Mellencamp vs. Seger vs. Springsteen

Bdgregory-Not claiming Mellencamp-Seger-Springsteen are the best all time songwriters. During the late 70's-late 80's these 3 produced some of there best and most popular works. IMO it's a close call which artist was the best during this period. During this time Neil Young was at a low point in his song writing and popularity(record sales). It wasn't until 2000(Silver and Gold)that Neil approached his best work. Van Morrison has not released a great studio recording since Avalon Sunset(89).

Man, I'd love to see Cockburn but he rarely tours in my area (Dallas). I've decided I'm just going to have to fly somewhere and see him in concert while he and I are still able to sing/play well and listen well respectively.

Dayglow

There was a Brit trio of singer songwriters that emerged at roughly the same time that was as much or more my speed:

Graham Parker
Elvis Costello
Joe Jackson

Sort of parallel universes. Different, but connected for me by my memories of that time. Its easy to see how individual preferences could lead to any of the six, but

Of this lot, Graham Parker has probably held up best,....Mellencamp the worst....for me.

But this is definitely a personal chocolate vs vanilla kind of thing

BTW, I just saw GP & The Rumour perform last week. They still got it going on.

Martykl-I'm a fan of Joe Jackson, but never bought into the Elvis Costello hype. Squeezing out Sparks is the only Graham Parker recording I own. From what I can recall(no turntable for many years) it's a great album.

Dayglow - we just disagree - especially in regard to your statement of when they did their best work. Of course my mind set was "most prolific", not limited to just when you "were growing up". I think the difference is also a matter of musical tastes.