Out Now: John Mellencamp’s New Album ‘Strictly a One-Eyed Jack,’ ft. Three Songs w/ Bruce Springsteen (Listen)

Today, Jan. 21, revered singer/songwriter John Mellencamp returned with Strictly a One-Eyed Jack, a new studio album that serves as his 25th record to date and the first since 2017’s Sad Clowns & Hillbillies.

Announced a few weeks back, the first preview of Mellencamp’s new material was a video for “Wasted Days,” a collaboration with Bruce Springsteen that marked the pair’s first-ever team-up on a song (and is one of three songs featuring “The Boss” on the record):

The heartfelt acoustic track “Chasing Rainbows” popped up in December:

Click here to pick up Strictly a One-Eyed Jack on CD from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pre-order Strictly a One-Eyed Jack on LP from our Rock Cellar Store (Releases in May)

Strictly a One-Eyed Jack was written and produced by Mellencamp at his own Belmont Mall Studios in Bloomington, Indiana.

More on the record, per Mellencamp’s recently revamped website:

Rumors of Mellencamp and Springsteen working together have been running rampant for months. In April, Twitter was abuzz after the two men were spotted having lunch together in Bloomington, Ind. (where Mellencamp lives). A month later, Mellencamp officially confirmed the collaboration. “Bruce is singing on the new record and is playing guitar,” he told Billboard during Clive Davis’ virtual 2021 Grammy gala.

Mellencamp’s as-yet-untitled 2022 album will be the the 25th studio LP of his career, following 2018’s covers album Other’s People’s Stuff. Earlier this year, the rocker released a teaser for the release, featuring a new song titled “I Always Lie to Strangers.” At that time, Mellencamp also indicated that he was eyeing a return to touring in 2022.

Stream the album below.