Life Death Love and Freedom (2008)

GOOD OLD JOHN John Mellencamp ponders dying — and sounds vital doing it — on Life Death Love and Freedom

The onetime Johnny Cougar firmly embraces geezerdom with Life Death Love and Freedom. ''Just put me in a pinebox/Six feet underground!'' sings John Mellencamp on ''If I Die Sudden,'' one of this album's slow-burning rockers. And for much of the T Bone Burnett-produced collection, his grizzled vocals seem as if they belong to someone who really is about to shuffle off this mortal coil — which perfectly suits such melancholy tracks as the terrific riffing blues of ''John Cockers'' and the Tom Petty-ish ''Troubled Land.'' Though he may be contemplating mortality, Mellencamp, with his weathered snarl, still sounds remarkably alive. B
DOWNLOAD THIS: Hear a preview of ''John Cockers'' at Club Cherry Bomb: the Official John Mellencamp Fan Club