Customer Reviews

American Fool (Rpkg)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

American Fool was John Cougar's major breakthrough. The album was buoyed by two major hits "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane". The former has a heavy guitar riff that sounds like a motorcycle revving up and it S&M stylings perfectly fit the leather clad rebel rocker image he had at the time. The former has an equally memorable guitar riff, but the song is a reminiscence about days gone by and dealing with growing up. "Hurts So Good" went to number two and "Jack & Diane" became his only number one single and both songs ended up among the ten biggest of 1982. The rest of the album contains some equally pleasing tracks like "Thundering Hearts", "China Girl", "Danger List" and "Hand To Hold On To". The album also went to number one and so far is the only one of his to do so.
The bonus track on this album is the would be title track and it should have been included on the original release.

OK. The Mellencamp on display here was nowhere to be seen prior to "American Fool."
If you listen to all his albums, in chronological order, one after the other, the second you get to "Hurts So Good", you sense something different.
This guy sound confident, assured. Brash, crystal-clear production.
The melody isn't catchy, it's irresistible. This is a classic pop song.

Then comes "Jack and Diane", a song that went from hit to overplayed to ridiculed to beloved classic. It's his prototype of story songs he had previously failed with, but was to soon master.
The drums simply thunder from your speakers...the remastering process shines here. The hand claps, the sizzling hi-hats...
...this is a chance for even the most jaded Mellencamp fans to rediscover this song, and fall in love with all over again.

Those two songs aren't just great singles, they're amongst the defining songs of an era...

The remainder of the album doesn't (...couldn't...) live up to those two songs, but there are some killer tunes left over. "Hand to Hold Onto" is a sunny single... the bonus track, "American Fool" is better than most of the other songs on the record too!

The classic artist we know and love first rears his head here.

AMERICAN FOOL, John Mellencamp's first big hit album, has just gotten better, thanks to digital remastering and the addition of the title song as a bonus cut. The songs are basic party fare, for the most part, but also include some more serious material as well. Any Mellencamp fan should buy this one.

This is an "American silver classic that hurts ears so good"! After more than a quarter-century on the market,John Cougar's(nee Mellencamp) third commercial album still sells well. Seymour,Indiana-born Cougar reached the peak of his popularity with the Top 20 hits HURTS SO GOOD,JACK & DIANE and HAND TO HOLD ON TO. Not only that,these were his first videos played during the infancy of MTV. This re-issue features the finally released bonus track,the title track. This was one of the top-selling albums of 1982. Other top-sellers of '82 include The J. Geils Band's FREEZE FRAME,Paul McCartney's TUG OF WAR,The Human League's DARE and Men At Work's BUSINESS AS USUAL. This is the last album Cougar would put out under the name John Cougar. He used John Cougar Mellencamp for his next four albums then John Mellencamp for subsequent releases.

american fool is a classic album. it has three top 20 hits. jack and diane hit#1,hurts so good hit#2, and hand to hold on to hit#19. the songs weakest moments,danger list,close enough,and can you take it are good too. why did his record company say this album would ruin his career? it dudn't,john mellencamp became more successful after this album came out.it spent 9 weeks at #1. this is an amazing album. ed wilson

This is the album that skyrocketed John to the top. I still remember when it came out. How many songs can take you back like that? This whole album rocks. If you have the Best of John Mellencamp - toss it and buy each album individually. You are missing out!

This launched the midwestern live show star squarely onto the national stage, with two huge worldwide hits..the highly conventional "Hurts So Good" as well as the standout "Jack and Diane"; and while the first made him a superstar, the latter proved his terrific ability to weave a tale, a talent he has honed to an exceptional level over the years. This album is filled with catchy rock treasures, such as the minor hit "Hand To Hold On To", the aptly named "Thundering Hearts" and the anthemic "Close Enough". Taken on its own, this album could easily be dismissed as a Top 40 grab by Mellencamp; but in the context of his entire career, this was a watershed moment, a solid album that gave him the leeway to grow as an artist - and listeners worldwide are the beneficiaries.

John Mellencamp finally became the big star he had been pitched as in 1982, when "American Fool" rose to number one on the Billboard album charts. Mellencamp, who was still John Cougar at the time, ditched the overproduction of his first series of albums and stripped the sound down to a bare-bones Stonesy swagger. Also, wheil Mellencamp had shown some decency as a songwriter with Springsteen/Seeger aspirations, his previous albums had yet to deliver more than a handful of decent songs ("I Need a Lover," "Miami," "This Time" come to mind). Not so on "American Fool."

The original side one of the album exploded with two moments of pure brilliance. Both "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diana" captured all the elements of Mellencamp's idols; "Hurts" for the Stones like "Start Me Up" riff and "Jack & Diane" for the Springsteen heartland melodrama. Plus, each was catchy as the best singles of the period, when radio was essentially dominated by the likes of "Thriller." Even "Hand To Hold On To," the album's third single, boasted a killer hook. Add the tenderness of "Weakest Moments," and you had the first album where Mellencamp could boost his songwriting prowess. His band, which included guitarist Larry Crane and power drummer Kenny Aronoff, was also hitting a fresh peak, adding the album with some much needed muscle.

However, they still had not completely gelled. The remainder of the album starts to blend together too much ("Can You Take It" is all but a re-write of "Hurst So Good," "Thundering Hearts" doesn't meet the Springsteen/Seeger standard Mellencamp is obviously aiming for, etc). He'd now offered living proof that he was more than hype, and he'd make another huge leap by the next album "Uh Huh," when he'd ultimately reclaim his Mellencamp name. But just for "Hurts So Good" and "Jack and Diane," John "Cougar" could now show that he could deliver stalwart American Rock.

PS - The bonus pseudo-title song bonus is so-so, and he'd ultimately steal some of the lyric for "Crumblin' Down."

American Fool is a good cd hurts so good and hand to hold on to. hey that was ROCK in the 80`s for me!!.GOOD SONG`S on this cd. I gave this cd a 3 star good cd. Thundering hearts now that`s a good song.John cougar American fool is a cd to buy!!. thank you.

The album was not perfect but was pretty damn good - features classics "Hurts So Good", "Jack & Diane", "Hand To Hold On To", and one of my personal favorites "Weakest Moments"