A Tradition’s Call to Arms

If there had never been a Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp might be the rock star called the Boss by his fans and interviewed on TV by Ted Koppel.

Granted, that’s a bit like saying the New Jersey Nets might be NBA champions if it weren’t for the powerhouse Western Division. Springsteen’s cultural impact and body of work are far greater than Mellencamp’s.

Still, the singer-songwriters have a lot in common. They are born outsiders who see rock as a force for personal and social liberation.

Their Bob Dylan-influenced music combines the energy and celebration of early rock and R&B; with the social commentary of folk and country music. Their band members interact on stage with a sense of community that reflects a larger bond between the artists and their audiences.

Along with such other ‘70s arrivals as Jackson Browne, Don Henley and Tom Petty, Springsteen and Mellencamp recognize their roles as spokesmen, to varying degrees, for many in their generation.

That’s why in a time of national joy or anxiety, these artists are turned to for inspiration and comfort as well as entertainment.

“After 9/11, we could all use some Americana these days,” said the Mellencamp fan sitting next to me Friday at the singer’s Staples Center concert. “And John’s about as American as you can get.”

During the wait for the show to begin, another fan predicted that Mellencamp would have an American flag behind him on stage.

Sure enough, Mellencamp brought a dose of Americana to the stage--including a flag, at one point--but he did so with restraint and an acknowledgment of some of the nation’s social problems.

Despite their cheery titles, “Love and Happiness” and “Peaceful World,” both of which were played early in the 90-minute set, are biting pieces of social commentary. The former is about man’s warlike nature in the Middle East and in our hemisphere, while the latter is a reminder that racism is still alive in this country.

Because Mellencamp has a strong pop sensibility that turns many of his songs into feel-good sing-alongs, you wonder how much the cheering fans actually reflect on the seriousness of the songs’ themes.

Early in his career, Mellencamp--then billed as John Cougar--was almost all pop sensibility, and the catchy nature of such tunes as “Jack and Diane” and “Hurts So Good” made him a star. But Mellencamp was dissatisfied with the lightweight nature of that material, and he started working as hard on his themes as on his seductive melodies.

The result was a series of ‘80s albums, highlighted by “Scarecrow” and “The Lonesome Jubilee,” that established him as a purposeful figure in pop.

He also showed his personal commitment to issues such as the plight of the family farmer by co-founding Farm Aid.

The Indiana native and his eight-piece band did a good job at Staples of framing his old hits and some recent material with aggressive arrangements that added strong contemporary elements, including rousing percussion, to his folk and rock-roots foundations.

At 50, Mellencamp isn’t as flashy a performer as he once was, but his voice remains forceful and full.

He finally brought the flag out during an acoustic section that featured a spirited version of “This Train Is Bound for Glory,” the Woody Guthrie-associated folk song that Springsteen reworked into his own “Land of Hope and Dreams” during his reunion tour with the E Street Band.

It was a graceful and affecting reminder that Mellencamp and the rest of the ‘70s songwriter brigade, for all their sales and acclaim, owe their own debts to their forefathers in a rich American musical tradition.