Review: Melissa Etheridge ‘I’m Not Broken (Live from Topeka Correctional Facility)’
By Hal Horowitz
Many rock stars have been through troubling times and emerged on the other side scarred but smarter, to borrow a title from ‘Drivin’ N’ Cryin’.’ But few had to persevere over Melissa Etheridge’s hardships.
Initially courting controversy as one of the few “out” performers, she beat breast cancer twenty years ago, then endured her son’s death from an opioid overdose. Through sheer force of will, the two-time Grammy winner has not only endured those ordeals but developed as a powerful spokesperson for others going through similar life trials through a one-woman show that played in New York City for a three-month run. In 2023 she wrote a bestselling memoir, Talking to My Angels. And, although her radio hit days may be behind her, Etheridge has continued to tour and record tough, roots rocking albums filled with stirring compositions that often play to the back rows. The most recent, 2021s One Way Out, confirms she hasn’t lost a step.
And she’s not stopping now.
A new “docuseries” about her life, appropriately titled Melissa Etheridge:I’m Not Broken, is now streaming. The press release states “it explores themes of female incarceration, redemption, substance abuse, generational trauma, grief and healing,” all subjects she has experienced first-hand. Associated with it is this live gig, recorded at the titular location in Etheridge’s home state, where she charges through hits, deeper tracks and even a new tune penned for the women inmates.
It’s a moving, mesmerizing, incisive 90 minute performance with a set list specifically geared towards the, err captive, audience who is a large part of the proceedings. Nearly every selection is preceded by a brief introduction explaining why it was written and how it applies to making the listener’s life better. The show begins with a short, inspirational speech from the current mayor of Leavenworth, Kansas, at one time an inmate at a different institution.
Etheridge and a tight three-piece blow through her epic, often rousing songs with a stronger intensity than the commanding approach she’s been known for. From the opening “All American Girl” (“she’ll live and die in this man’s world”), to a swamped up cover of “Born Under a Bad Sign” and an eight minute “I’m the Only One,” this is one scorching concert. The latter song, where she blows impressive blues harmonica before electric guitarist Max Hart launches into a searing solo, then leading the already amped-up crowd in a call and response of “I might have f**ked things up, but I can break the chain,” is chilling and passionate, especially considering who she is singing to.
The closing, soaring, 11 minute encore of “Like the Way I Do,” complete with an unnecessary drum solo and some wildly enthusiastic participation from the assembled throng, wraps up a riveting hour and a half that’s as inspirational to anyone listening as it surely was to the attendees.
It’s impossible to hear this and not be moved both by Melissa Etheridge’s obvious passion and the electricity generated by the performance, which equals and often surpasses Johnny Cash’s career-making prison releases.
Push play and you’re as good as there.
Watch “I’m Not Broken Tailer “
Melissa Etheridge website
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