John Mellencamp: It's About You

This travelogue-like concert film documents roots-rocker John Mellencamp's experiences on a 2009 tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Along the way, Mellencamp works on a new record, No Better Than This, with producer/guitar player T-Bone Burnett. Made by 62-year-old photographer Kurt Markus, along with his 21-year-old son Ian, John Mellencamp: It's About You finds the elder Markus—who narrates in a halting, confessional manner—noting that he first met Mellencamp 20 years before when he photographed the musician. The film combines color and monochrome Super 8 footage with still photos to capture Mellencamp onstage and in the studio with guitarists Mike Wanchic and Andy York, fiddle player Miriam Sturm, keyboard player Troye Kinnett, electric and standup bass player Jon E. Gee, and drummer Dane Clark (guitarist Marc Ribot also participates in the recording sessions). For a few of the slower songs, Mellencamp performs alone with Wanchic. Selections include FM radio staples "Small Town," "Crumblin' Down," and "Pink Houses," to which Dr. Cornel West claps along from the audience. In between performances, the documentary follows Mellencamp in Savannah, GA, where he sings at the country's oldest African-American church; Memphis, where he records at Sun Studios; and San Antonio, where he opts for the Robert Johnson Room at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel. Presented in Dolby Digital stereo on DVD and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)