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Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

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A major fixture in American music for over 25 years, Words & Music is John Mellencamp's first (near) career-encompassing collection. Its two discs contain 37 digitally remastered selections - including all 22 of his top 40 hits - covering 14 albums. Mellencamp's only musical phase neglected here is his initial recordings for MCA Records from the mid-70s when he was using the Johnny Cougar moniker (and frankly, they deserve to be ignored).

Even after Mellencamps's first couple of albums on Mercury in 1979 and 1980, it was hard to envision that a long, substantial career lie ahead. With his initial hits "I Need A Lover," "This Time," and "Ain't Even Done With The Night," Mellencamp came across as a rebel with a few good riffs and simplistic lyrics that rarely went beyond stud-boy prowling. "Hurt So Good" - the ultra infectious leadoff single from 1982's American Fool album was more of the same, but Mellencamp's next hit would forever alter his image: "Jack and Diane," a slice of life saga of a boy and girl growing up in the Midwest (like Mellencamp did). The lyrics for "Jack and Diane" and its follow-up "Hand To Hold Onto," remained uncomplicated, but they hold a nostalgic eloquence to which a broader, post adolescent audience could relate.

1983's Uh-Huh (with its enclosed singles "Crumblin' Down," "Pink Houses," and the raucous "Authority Song") showed even more of an emphasis on heartland reflections, while 1985's thematically varied Scarecrow album - with vignettes of rock and roll heroes ("R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A."), the simple life ("Small Town"), young love ("Lonely Ol' Night," "Rumbleseat"), and the plight of the modern farmer ("Rain On The Scarecrow)" - found Mellencamp really coming into his own as a storyteller. At this time, he also became actively involved in Farm Aid as one of its founding members. After Scarecrow, Mellencamp closed out his first decade at Mercury with his most sonically enjoyable effort to date, 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee (represented here by "Paper In Fire," "Cherry Bomb," and "Check It Out)." This release began Mellencamp's prominent use of violin, giving his recordings more of a down home feel.

Aside from its sarcastic leadoff single "Pop Singer," 1989's Big Daddy was even more folk-oriented, with its character study "Jackie Brown" ranking among Mellencamp's most moving recordings. After exploring this gentler side, 1991's Whenever We Wanted presented some of Mellencamp's hardest rockin' material like "Love And Happiness" and "Get A Leg Up." Then Mellencamp really surprised us with the somewhat somber, always eclectic Human Wheels from 1993, highlighted by its hypnotic title track, the atmospheric "When Jesus Left Birmingham," and the scorcher "What If I Came Knocking." The follow-up - 1994's Dance Naked - was short (about 30 minutes in length) and simple, stripped down rock and roll. Its enclosed title track and effective cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night" (that introduced Me'Shell Ndegeocello to the masses) are the album's lone standouts. Much better was 1996's adventurous Mr. Happy Go Lucky that featured "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" and "Just Another Day."

Disappointed by the sales of his recent Mercury albums, Mellencamp moved to Columbia Records in 1998. Album sales at Columbia would become increasingly sluggish, however, and success at pop radio would now elude him completely (despite no drop off in quality). Mellencamp's 1998 self-titled release offered some of his most introspective material, including the enclosed singles "Your Life Is Now" and the exotic shuffler "I'm Not Running Anymore." 2001's Cuttin' Heads served up the timely - released just prior to 9/11 - single "Peaceful World" which featured the debut of duet partner India.Arie. Mellencamp then took another stylistic detour with 2003's Trouble No More, an inspired collection of rootsy and bluesy cover tunes represented here by "Teardrops Will Fall."

Words And Music also includes two new Mellencamp compositions that feature production and background vocal collaborations by Babyface: the social commentaries "Walk Tall" and "Thank You." Both hold their own amongst Mellencamp's best work. Mellencamp also provided the sequencing for this collection. Instead of just placing the tracks in chronological release date order, he decided to group recordings with similar themes and succeeded in creating two well-paced cds. While a few low charting singles ("Small Paradise," "Rooty Toot Toot") were left off this set, every significant Mellencamp recording has been included here (with only the final track "Now More Than Ever" rating as less than essential). It's a must-own retrospective of a gifted musical icon.

This version also includes a DVD with five Mellencamp videos.

Now this is a collection to be proud of. His previous disc didn't tell nearly enough of the story (although admittedly it was a "volume one") but this one seems just right.

Every song you know. Every song sounds better from a technical point of view.

Every song is improved by it's context. The album defines a career; it makes his impressive talent obvious.

The two "new ones" are fine...they're "gravy" as I like to say. The "meat and potatoes" part...the "hits" part...is awesome...song after song after song...

...the quality of the songwriting improves dramatically. The musicianship improves dramatically. The scope and breadth of his work is simply well displayed here.
That's EXACTLY what you ask for in a greatest hits type of compilation.

Best of all, you'll hardly ever hit the "skip track" button. It's a joy from stem to stern.

The people who will need this record are:

1) The Mellen-heads...because every Mellencamp fan will need these songs sounding this good.

2) The more casual fan who recognizes a few of the song titles here. This record will expand your appreciation for his career, and you'll find new songs to love.

3) The "student" of rock. This album makes a case for his inclusion amongst the great rock singer-songwriters of all time. While maybe not quite Springsteen, he's close. Certainly up there with (and in my opinion, above) people like Bob Seger, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne and the like.

4) The "newbie". If you're just discovering Mellencamp, or maybe only know one or two songs but want to know more, this will absolutely HOOK you. You'll most likely seek out some of his albums...I recommend starting with "Scarecrow" and "The Lonesome Jubilee."

And on a more superficial level, this is an incredible "car" record. This is one to play with the top down and the volume up.

OVERVIEW: 25 years and 16 albums later, we're treated to the Mellencamp collection we've been waiting for. It was only a matter of time before a new & improved digitally remastered 2-cd set came out - and here it is! Mellencamp's last compilation is now obsolete - with all the songs from "The Best That I Could Do" being here, minus one song "Without Expression" (of which I hardly miss). This is truly a beautiful collection of Mellencamp's best work.

WHAT YOU GET: 2 discs, 37 tracks - all digitally remastered. 2 new songs - "Walking Tall" and "Thank you" (featuring some great slide guitar). A 10 page booklet listing all the tracks, the players and the albums they came from. The notes say these tracks were chosen and arranged by the artist himself. All 22 "Top 40" songs of Mellencamp's are represented here... including the standards "Hurt So Good", "Jack & Diane", "Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses", "Authority Song", "Paper In Fire", "I Need A Lover", "Small Town", "R.O.C.K In The USA", "Key West Intermezzo", and more.

EXTRAS & MISC: A bonus DVD is included containing a mere 5 tracks - 1 song 'live', and 4 videos. The albums of Mellencamp are all represented on "Words & Music", minus his first 2 (somewhat obscure) releases. You'll find no songs from "Chestnut Street Incident" (1976), or "Kid Inside" (1977) with probable good reason. Mellencamp's ("Cougar" at the time) self titled album featuring "I Need A Lover", followed by "Nothin Matter's And What If It Did" is where this collection starts. "American Fool" (1982) is where Mellencamp gained his fame featuring stronger song writing with hits, "Hurt So Good" and "Jack & Diane". The success of "Uh Huh" in 1983 (featuring "Pink Houses" and "Crumblin' Down") forever would make Mellencamp a household name. "Scarecrow" is best represented on "Words & Music" with 5 songs taken from it. The album "Whenever We Wanted" has 4 songs on this collection and there are several albums that had 2 or 3 songs taken from each. You'll find one hit ("Teardrops Will Fall") from his most recent (2003) studio album "Trouble No More". A few of my personal (non hit) favorites are missing like "Melting Pot", "Hot Dogs & Hamburgers", and "Circling Around The Moon"... but I can live with that. Like so many "Best Of" compilations, there can be hits and misses. This one from Mellencamp is a definite HIT. 2004's "Words & Music" is THE most complete 2-disc package to date from John Mellencamp.

It really doesn't matter whether you have listened to John Mellencamp for years, or just a few times, because his music will stay on your mind forever! John Mellencamp is an American original. and one of the most gifted performers to ever sing in a Rock&Roll band. Almost every one of his best songs are included in this great collection. And you get a BONUS DVD that is really good for getting another version of Mellencamp's skills as a performer. Even if you have bought other albums by John Mellencamp in the past, you should really buy this one! The songs have never sounded better. Support John and his band, and get ready to hear songs that will tell stories we all can readily identify with. Long live Mr. John Mellencamp!!!

There is not one rock artist over the last 30 years that can match Mellencamp pound for pound when it comes to devising short, punchy true rock and roll singles. Many casual fans will find it hard to believe that the guy who did "Jack And Diane," "Hurts So Good," and "Pink Houses" actually had enough great ideas to fill up two cds of 37 songs. Here is the surprise..He absolutely does!!! There are very few better "Greatest Hits" collections on the market and this captures all of his greatest moments up until 2004. In addition to 35 proven classics, Mellencamp also included two (at the time) new songs that are exclusive to this release. Both of those songs, "Walk Tall" and "Thank You" hold up very well against the older material and although they are pleasant enough, they are not the highlights. Mellencamp's most productive decade was obviously the 80's when his songs and videos were unavoidable on both MTV and radio respectively. From his late 70's hit "I Need A Lover" through his classic 80's material like "Small Town," through his underrated 90's material like "Human Wheels," "Key West Intermezzo" and "Get A Leg Up" every album is well represented by it's best tracks. In addition to the two new songs his post 2000 material is here as well with tracks like the melodic "Peaceful World" and the classic cover of "Teardrops Will Fall."

This collection is one that when you play it will give you that "Hey, I remember THAT one" moment as each recognizable track reveals itself. What makes this collection great is that the songs that you may not recognize stand up as well as the ones you do. Mellencamp was a more well-rounded artist than given credit for. Often writing commentary for small town America in his music and seeing that many of these issues are still relevant today has kept this music fresh and vital. Mellencamp did the first Farm Aid back in 1985 and wrote the song "Scarecrow" which became the exclamation point on the farmer's plight and these problems, 20 something years later, are as relevant as ever.

Mellencamp proves that he deserves his induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with this slice of Americana from his 'regular guy' viewpoint. The one disc "The Best That I could Do" does not do him justice like this set does. John Mellencamp had too many great songs for one disc and this release nails it!

Here in Hoosier-land, we have a special place in our heart for Mellencamp. There are enough of us around who can tell stories of riding motorcycles with John around the back roads and little towns between Indianapolis and Spencer. By all accounts, John is a great guy and friend who is nonetheless not exactly a day at the beach to be around. Mellencamp married "up" three times painfully aware he didn't deserve any of these women; yet he managed to piss away his first two marriages away by fooling around on the road. He was that irresponsible kid made good and now suffers the embarrassment of raising little versions himself in his sons. He knows what its like to grow up in a town where the best jobs barely pay above minimum wage and a little bit of heaven was sitting back in your room listening to records and working on a bottle of Red Pop.

Mellencamp dedicated one of his early albums: "To the Rolling Stones for never takin' the livin' room off the records when we were kids.". That kids in the Midwest could get and love these wonderful rock records and feel these songs were made just for them made all the difference. The Beatles and the Stones may have lived in London but for us playing those records in places like Sullivan, Jacksonville or Clarksdale they mattered. They liked us. They were loyal. And they often endured longer than our high school romances. They provided a soundtrack that made our lives not just bearable but encouraging and exciting. That was a lot to ask of a bunch of records made by other young people far away; but it worked and we loved them for it. Mellencamp never forgot what rock and roll meant to "the kids" and aimed high to be apart of their soundtrack.

Thus we come to this new collection. Mellencamp's first two albums may be sentimental favorites; but save a handful of hits they are mostly excuses in finding a national public voice. The real core of Mellencamp's discography is found on albums three thru six: AMERICAN FOOL, UH-HUH, SCARECROW and THE LONESOME JUBILEE. We would recommend these four albums to anyone who has interest beyond WORDS & MUSIC. The John Mellencamp we have come to know and love is fully fleshed out on these records as well as the particular rock sound Mellencamp achieved with the addition of bluegrass fiddle and accordion along with the hammer dulcimer, autoharp, banjo and dobro. This new "homegrown" sound lent an air of "realness" and "grounded ness" to Mellencamp's songs that provided a deep contrast with much of the music of the eighties.

Unfortunately, Mellencamp fell victim to the seasickness many get with prolonged rock stardom. With the satiric "Pop Singer" on BIG DADDY, John complained he never wanted to be a pop singer. The trouble is people don't want to hear this crap and there are thousands more than willing to take the grumpy rock star's place. This was a dangerous misstep that could have been ignored if the rest of BIG DADDY managed to deliver the goods. It did not. Worse, John included "Jackie Brown". "Jackie Brown" is clearly an important song to Mellencamp; but it is a downer the downers with its tale of a thoroughly wasted life which ends in suicide. In retrospect, Mellencamp could have been forgiven for BIG DADDY as it was the occasion of his second divorce and the loss of his children. The truth is Mellencamp's output after this point is very uneven. Much of this is due to the departure of Larry Crane, longtime guitarist and one of Mellencamp's best friends. Arguments abound in the precise effect Crane's exit had; but it is clear some of the original spark in Mellencamp's songwriting left with him.

The effect was not apparent at first. WHENEVER WE WANTED and HUMAN WHEELS that followed rank up with the very best of Mellencamp's albums musically. Sales-particularly of HUMAN WHEELS-were disappointing however. This was an insulting slap in the face and up unto this day we frequently find Mellencamp seriously thinking of giving up recording altogether when he is between albums. Since HUMAN WHEELS, John has given us two excellent albums in MR. HAPPY GO LUCKY and CUTTIN' HEADS. The "live" ROUGH HARVEST is favorite among fans while "TROUBLE NO MORE" is a respected and well-liked effort in blues standards among critics.

WORDS & MUSIC is far superior to 1997's THE BEST I COULD DO and is more complete. Thankfully we are spared Mellencamp's more overt political songs which tend to be corny and wooden. Unfortunately, we still get the dreadful "Jackie Brown" and some of Mellencamp's signature songs are missing. The songs are presented out of chronological order and so many of John's lesser known songs are given center stage along with the hits. Some may feel cheated that with one exception all of THE BEST I COULD DO is here. I would encourage others to get a hold of the missing "hits" to fill out this collection: "Warmer Place To Sleep", "Play Guitar", "Serious Business", and "Minutes To Memories".

Chances are you may have forgotten that Mellencamp had written so many favorites in the past. As a reminder, WORDS & MUSIC is well worth the purchase. To a lot of us who grew up in old houses in tiny towns with only the radio and family record player to teach us how to be cool-or at least let us know what it looked like-those rock records of the 1960's and 1970's had a power beyond calculation. On a hot summer's day, you could drive down the road and the countless fields of corn and beans would pass by reddened by afternoon sun. Playing on the radio or tape player would be that precious rock and roll-and you knew you loved it all--that life was good.

I have been a fan of John Mellencamp since the early Cougar days. A collection like this is well-deserved and it must be in everyone's CD collection. It's also a great stocking stuffer! The only song missing here is "Without Expression" from his thin single collection, "The Best That I Can Do 1978-1988". That's a great song but it doesn't take away from Words and Music. This CD plays constantly in my portable CD player.

This long-overdue compilation is quite a treat, even for fans like myself who have all John's original albums. But hearing the songs collected this way makes you realize how amazingly durable they are. Like the folk-rock songs of the 60's that we just can't forget (and which have been a prime source of inspiration to Mellencamp), many of the tunes here have defied the ages. Whether it's one of his many expertly-crafted social commentaries (still as relevant today--maybe moreso--as when they were released), or from-the-heart classics like Cherry Bomb or the lovely Ain't Even Done With The Night, almost every one of the 37 songs here is a winner.

Sure, the completist has a few nits to pick: I for one would love to have remastered versions of soundtrack songs like Rave On or Baby Please Don't Go. And a couple of the "greatest hits" left me scratching my head (Martha Say? Just Another Day?). But except for a couple of very early singles (Miami, Small Paradise) and one from 1987 (Rooty Toot Toot), WORDS AND MUSIC represents pretty much every single the man released in the past 25 years.

The two new tracks are welcome additions, if not instant classics. I would have gladly swapped one of them for John's duet with Travis Tritt, "What Say You," which appears on Tritt's latest album.

The songs all sound fantastic, and even a casual fan really should have this set. I know these discs will be played often and played loud at my house. Enjoy!

This is the best (so far) compilation of John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits ever released. This 2CD set collects all of his most important songs and popular works. If you're a John Mellencamp fan you should not be without this great collection. This set is far better than the single disc titled "The Best That I could Do" which was release a few years ago. That one has a lot of great songs missing and with "Words and Music" you get the very best of John Mellencamp. There are no misses on this one, only great songs from a great singer and songwriter whose music has lasted for many years. Mellencamp is a poet at heart who has always had a good song up his sleeve. Get this one you will not be disappointed. Is definately a keeper.

Mellencamp has been underrated for much of his career, without just cause. He is much more then a pop rocker who had a string of nice hits in the 80's, and this collection proves that. This wonderful 2 CD set takes you from his beginnings and those 80's rockers to where he is today and all the solid stuff in between. He can handle a rocker with the best of them and a ballad on his own strength. More then anything one must be impressed with his writing talent. Some can write splendid songs but can't perform them with the heart with which they were penned. Some can sing a song and having not written it miss a piece of it's soul and grit. John can do it all. Any serious music collector who appreciates talent and wants a collection with of good solid songs with heart and often reflective music should not miss this one.