A Mix of Old, New With a ‘Happy’ Result : JOHN MELLENCAMP “Mr. Happy Go Lucky” Mercury (***)

The title of Mellencamp’s new album is surely intended to be taken with a grain of salt. But by today’s standards, the singer does seem like a bit of a cockeyed optimist. As modern rock stars increasingly bemoan the shallowness and futility of life in the spotlight, this Hoosier at least has the common sense (and good taste) to distinguish major crises from petty ones. Mellencamp may brood at times, but he doesn’t whine--certainly not on this effort, one of his most poised and moving in years.

Working with his longtime core team of supporting musicians and with newly tapped musical advisor Junior Vasquez, a techno-dance producer, Mellencamp fuses traditional and contemporary textures with a hearty elegance. “Jackamo Road” offers a stark, acoustic folk arrangement; “This May Not Be the End of the World” goes back to the future with a hip-hop beat and atmospheric guitars. On “Life Is Hard,” a slamming electronic rhythm is offset by grainy guitar riffs and warm strings.

The lyrics, likewise, are typically well balanced, mixing frustration and ennui with rueful humor and yearning. Alongside poignant American character studies like “Jerry” and “Key West,” Mellencamp offers the subtly self-deprecating “The Full Catastrophe,” in which he sings, “I’m glad to say I’ve enjoyed every day of the full catastrophe of life.” Mopers, take note.

*

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