John Mellencamp has released a new single, “Chasing Rainbows,” which will appear on his forthcoming studio album, Strictly a One-Eyed Jack.
You can listen to the new song down below.
This is actually the third preview from Mellencamp, who was already work on new music prior to the onset of the pandemic. He gave a live performance of “I Always Lie to Strangers” during October’s Farm Aid, after releasing a collaboration with Bruce Springsteen titled “Wasted Days” in September. Springsteen appears on three tracks on Strictly a One-Eyed Jack.
“I love him like a brother,” Mellencamp told the Indianapolis Monthly. “I feel very fortunate to have found a colleague and a good friend in him. This should have happened years ago.”
Official plans have yet to be confirmed, but Mellencamp aims to resume touring sometime next year. He confirms that he’ll skip large arenas and stick to a consolidated schedule.
“We’re just playing three nights everywhere in 3 or 4,000-seat theaters,” he said, “because I don’t like playing outside and I don’t like playing in arenas. That means it’s more work and I make less money, but I’d rather have people see something that could turn into magic rather than something that’s a drunken brawl. In arenas, there’s always people drinking and fighting and all that bullshit.”
Mellencamp is also completing a new live LP and documentary for 2022, both titled The Good Samaritan Tour. The projects chronicle a free tour from 2000 where he performed on public streets and parks throughout the U.S.
John Mellencamp Albums Ranked
A pre-fab pop singer turned heartland rocker turned rootsy moralist, John Mellencamp has had almost as many career turns as names.