Mellencamp is one of those artists who never wows me, but he does have a lot of good songs. Mr. Happy Go Lucky was the album of his I liked the most (the hits are good and some of the deep cuts are really nice).
He had a Stonesy thing going you really didn't hear much in the 80s ... even from the Stones. I only have Scarecrow in my vinyl collection, but I really love most of his singles from the 80s. Lots of cigarettes + age
While most folks are familiar with his 80s and early 90s material, many have "moved on" at some point in the last 20-25 years. Do yourself a favor and check out his work in the last decade or so. Life, Death, Love & Freedom from 2008 is a masterpiece, and 2007's Freedom's Road is almost as good. And I have already become very fond of Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, his 2017 album.
That's because "I Need a Lover" had already been a hit here by the time that album came out. It was originally recorded for his 1978 album A Biography, which wasn't released in America at the time because his previous album had flopped. (And yes, that means the most quintessentially American of American rockers had his first taste of success on the other side of the world. Make of that what you will!)
This is where you lose me. Springsteens run of albums from Greetings through Tunnel of Love are classics that Mellencamp will never match. That being said, Johns pretty good. Good recent stuff.
Whenever anyone says that the Johnny Cougar years (1976-8 or so) were worthless, just mention that it produced "I Need A Lover". 'Nuff said!
Big Mellencamp fan here. I think Sad Clowns and Hillbillies might be his best album yet. In my opinion, it's neck and neck with Whenever We Wanted.
Mr. Happy Go Lucky is only available on CD. It sounds superb, but I’d love to see it on vinyl. I hope an audiophile LP label does us all a big favor and brings it to market.
Shame they destroyed the mastering on this set.... Usually the local thrifts or even online the oldies still be had for cheap.
That's too bad. I have that recent set on vinyl which was advertised as being cut from the original analog masters. Did they mess up the cd versions only? I haven't given my set a critical listen admittedly but it sounded pretty good on my gear, certainly not as thin sounding as I found much of the Scarecrow original cd and vinyl releases that I own. Some of that sheen wasn't as apparent at least.
Massive modern compression. I skipped it because of reviews I trust. My hodgepodge of oldies are fine. Think SQ wise the only issues I had (for my tastes) were Lonesome Jubilee, both the old US Precision LP and US PDO. The remasters may have transferred well to the LP format-or completely different altogether. The CD Box set uses the 2005 remasters
"Love and Happiness" and "Last Chance" are two quality forgotten songs that got airplay from Whenever We Wanted. And he had many more successful, enjoyable singles over a more than 15-year period, while changing things up enough that his songs didn't feel like he was repeating himself. I have many of the albums from that era. John Mellencamp earned his spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
He’s certainly earned that spot. I do admit, though I was disappointed with Big Daddy when it was released, as I always felt that album sounded like someone took the wind out of his sails coming off albums like Uh-huh, Scarecrow, LJ. Never one of my favourites. However, I did like Whenever We Wanted better. Love and Happiness was a good rocker, but that saxophone, or whatever it is, at 1:53, RIP headphone users. lol Crazy Ones is my favorite on that album, if I had to pick. We are seeing him again in concert this fall, always a great show!
I fell in love with a couple of John Mellencamp albums back in the mid-80s, Scarecrow and Lonesome Jubilee, but then never embraced anything further until more recently. The albums Better Than This and Sad Clowns & Hillbillies are strong additions for me that I appreciate a great deal. John Hiatt is sort of a similar character for me in that I loved Bring The Family and Slow Turning from the 80s yet nothing since in his case has really drawn me in. Who knows, I'll keep trying and maybe find a couple of late gems like I did with Mellencamp.
I've recently picked up 4 of the Chris Bellman remastered vinyl cuts of American Fool, Uh-Huh, Scarecrow and Lonesome Jubilee. The sound on them is excellent and I highly recommend them but 3 of the 4 had to be returned for new copies as they arrived warped, scratched (audibly noticeable) filthy (though this wasn't a real issue as I have an RCM) and the worst was LJ that arrived chipped so I couldn't even play it. I eventually got all 4 in good condition (give or take a minor warp), so wherever they're being cut needs to improve its QC. I picked them up from Sound Of Vinyl in the UK, £6 each plus £3.95 postage. Great price compared to Amazon asking £26 for LJ.
I think it's a trumpet. You're correct, it will rip you ears off with headphones. While I think Big Daddy is not as good as what came before, it has some gems like "Pop Singer". It's his divorce album, so it's a bit downbeat.
I grew up in the 1980s and his music was a part of the fabric of that time. I own American Fool through The Lonesome Jubilee (IMO, his peak). To me, all four are essential.
A really good tune from a period of his that I don't really care all that much for. I wonder how much pre "American Fool" stuff he's done live in the last 35 years. I'm betting next to none.
For sure. His music was impossible to miss in the 80's. I was rarely nutty about any of his songs, but there is just something about Pink Houses that is still really, really great.
