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John Mellencamp will release his 25th album, Strictly A One-Eyed Jack, on January 21st. The set features three collaborations with Bruce Springsteen — the already released “Wasted Days” along with the new “Did You Say Such A Thing,” and the album closing “A Life Full Of Rain.” A lyric video for the set’s second single, “Chasing Rainbows” has already dropped.

Mellencamp’s artistic talent has clearly been passed down, with son Speck Mellencamp providing the portrait of his father gracing the new album’s cover.

Although John Mellencamp has always kept his pulse on what’s up and coming in terms of rock, pop, country, and hip hop — these days he admits he’s pretty dispirited by the state of modern music: “I hear a few songs every now and then that I think are pretty good, but I just think the artists today are not encouraged to be creative. They’re encouraged to get in line. Y’know, ‘Look, this band had this hit. This is the way they look and you’re kinda like them. You start looking that way and you start tailoring your stuff to sound like this.’ And I think that’s the way record companies push people today. They don’t encourage them to be themselves.”

Mellencamp admitted to us that he’s realistic these days as to why he writes and releases new music: “I’ve come to the conclusion that any record that I put out now, is really just a calling card. I don’t really anticipate sellin’ a bunch of ’em, because people don’t buy ’em anymore! They’re calling cards to let people know that I’m still writing songs, and I’m still current and I’m not an oldies act and I will never be and oldies act and there won’t be any ‘Happy Together’ tour for John Mellencamp.”

The tracklisting to John Mellencamp’s ‘Strictly A One-Eyed Jack’ is:

“I Always Lie To Strangers”
“Driving In The Rain”
“I Am A Man That Worries”
“Streets Of Galilee”
“Sweet Honey Brown”
“Did You Say Such A Thing” – with Bruce Springsteen
“Gone So Soon”
“Wasted Days” – with Bruce Springsteen
“Simply A One-Eyed Jack”
“Chasing Rainbows”
“Lie To Me”
“A Life Full Of Rain” – with Bruce Springsteen