John Mellencamp plumbs mortality and regret in his new album

By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a brutal calculus that goes on in John Mellencamp’s mind these days. Time is not on his side, and he knows it. He speculates that he likely has about 10 years left. That dark thought process — an honest reckoning, not a plea for anything — runs through his latest album, “Strictly a One-Eyed Jack,” a 12-song roots rock collection that explores aging, mortality and regret. The album includes three tunes featuring Bruce Springsteen and plenty of world-weary truths, like the opening song “I Always Lie to Strangers.” The album is out Friday.