Last night I watched John interviewed on Dan Rather's The Big Interview show. I enjoyed it quite a bit, great interview. Aside from music, John is a pretty great painter, his paintings are very cool. I saw him live a couple of times back during the mid-late 80s. Solid shows, great performances. Watching the interview last night made me want to check out some of his recent/current music, I'll have to do that. He also mentioned during the interview that he is in the early stages of developing a broadway show based on Jack & Diane.
No Better Than This is a heckuva recent effort and success in straightforward songwriting. A throwback but sort of novel idea to follow through on in these times. As far as the lo-fi sound, it's 'supposed' to sound like it does, or close enough to it imo. It would be nice if the sound was a little 'clearer' but it is what it is and for what it is it don't get much or no better than that Solid album worth an attentive listen and one I have returned to fwiw a few more times.
Got introduced to Mellencamp by a mate's girlfriend's older brother in the late 80's. (Along with Van Halen.) Picked up all his stuff since then. If I see an LP I haven't got I'll pick it up. There was a bunch that were CD only it'd be good to see get a vinyl edition. These days I'll play him more than Springsteen. Springsteen (along with Queen & Status Quo) was the first LP I ever had. Don't know anyone else who listens to him, here in central England where I'm living. Guess his 80's stuff is best known. Guess he's not going to be touring here either which is a shame. If I had to pick five, John Cougar Mr. Happy Go Lucky Big Daddy Plain Spoken The Lonesome Jubilee.
I needed some Mellencamp in my collection and picked up the 5xLP box set on Pop Market. Great price and I am looking forward to diving into some tracks that I have never heard before.
Did you see 'Falling from Grace'? Nice little film he directe that doesn't try to step beyond its modest ambitions. Good soundtrack too
I could listen to American fool-Uh Huh-Scarecrow all day.... any idea why the title track to American fool never made the original album, i quite like it
I have this set and it is very good. Chris Bellman did the remastering, so the sound is great. I think there were some issues with some pressings, but luckily all mine are fine.
Great album, but although I had previously heard the reasoning behind the lo-fi sound, I was a bit disappointed all the same. I never enjoyed that portable AM Radio sound for music, so I couldn’t connect with it as much audio wise. On a positive note, the fidelity of the songs sounded awesome live though!
This thread has inspired me to dig a bit deeper into his catalog. I am quite familiar with all the main albums from the 80's and early 90's, bu thave not heard much of his music from the mid 90's to around 2015. I found a CD copy of "Human Wheels" for cheap, and quite like this album. Also just picked up "Cuttin' Head" on CD (HDCD actually). It was only $1, and I did not expect too much, but there is some stuff on there, which I quite like. Sort of like the production, it has a nice drum sound, I think. Mastered a bit on the loud side, but still decent. Does this HDCD have peak extend applied?
John Mellencamp has been one of my favorite artists since I first heard him in the late 1970's. I had all of his albums back in the 1980s on cassette as they were a favorite for road trips and crusin' with friends. We used to call him one of the "no touch" artists. By "no touch" we meant that we could listen to his albums straight through without skipping (fast forwarding) songs. He was in very good company on our "no touch" list which included The Beatles, Led Zepplin, and Jimi Hendrix among a few very select other artists.
John Mellencamp is one of those artists who has some songs that I like but I have never felt the urge to explore his full discography. That being said, I really love run of hits from "This Time" up through "What If I Came Knocking" (not really a hit single but it did well on rock radio).
Chronologically: 1. John Cougar (1979) - don't let the "Cougar" scare you off from this fine release; all the songs here form a solid set 2. American Fool (1982) - likewise, don't let "Jack and Diane" prevent you from experiencing this also excellent breakthrough album 3. Uh-Huh (1983) - look for the "RL" vinyl (it rocks!); while I'd say most of his oeuvre is fairly serious, this might be his most "fun" listen 4. Scarecrow (1985) - I agree with others that this might be his masterpiece; here, the vinyl also sounds best, but the CD has an extra track 5. Lonesome Jubilee (1987) - this is right there with Scarecrow among his top albums
I will argue his album, John Cougar, with cuts like Sugar Marie and Taxi Dancer is his most unrecognized work deserving serious attention. Plus the record is recorded excellently (to my ears)! I've been a lifetime fan since grade 11 in 1980.
I have a bit of John's work - should certainly have more but I sold much of it when I downsized my lp collection 16 years ago. Anyway, he certainly has a distinctive sound and a talent for putting words together than many others would like to have. He has written quite a trove of music that really has a lot of meaning/substance.
Just saw him on the Audience TV network and he was fantastic. He's very underrated in my opinion. What a great catalog he has of the songs he wrote.
Scarecrow is a GREAT record. I'll always remember when i first heard Rain On The Scarecrow through the PA of the hallways of my high-school in '85 and i asked myself : who the f... is this guy ??? And my love for John Mellencamp's music keeps on growing these days with Big Daddy...
Maybe because he has released work under the name of John Cougar? And for a while (to this day) he has been referred to as John Cougar Mellencamp. No point in scrubbing his original stage name from history. He made a name for himself with that name.
I bought a JCM CD today. I was in Walmark buying a car battery and checked out the CD section. AC/DC, the Beatles, Stones, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Floyd, Queen were represented well among newer and other genre'd acts. I said to myself that I'd buy a JCM best of CD if they had one, and found the Best That I Can Do... title in the $5.00 section. I was a teenager in the 80s, and his popular stuff was all over the radio, malls, and TV for a good while. 'Jack and Diane' is as emblematic of that time period in the US as anything. Forgot that 'Need A Lover' had such a long intro to it - almost Eddie Money style. Cougar started out in the same vein - a little more slick than the Bruce's and Fogerty's that he would later footpath follow. The whole hearthrob image he sort of started out as is sort of a hoot.
Haven't really listened to JM in many years but saw him a few times back in the 80's and they were always great shows, especially the Lonesome Jubilee tour. I grabbed the remaster of Uh-Huh and couldn't believe how good it sounded. So punchy and dynamic, just sounds huge and the songs are killer. So went and bought Scarecrow and TLJ and have been playing the **** out of all three. Was never that into him but can't get enough now. Uh-Huh in particular is demo material, at least to me! As far as the obvious comparisons, I'm a Jersey guy (born in Hoboken) but have never owned any Springsteen. Or Bon Jovi!
