That's certainly not how the story started. Mellencamp's first two recordings, Chestnut Street Incident 1976 and The Kid Inside 1977 were both inferior efforts. The Kid Inside was rejected by his record company and not released until 1983 after he'd had a few successful singles under his belt. His second release, A Biography 1978 was only sold in the UK and Australia, where I Need A Lover became a top ten hit. So I Need A Lover was included on his second American record, John Cougar 1979, and was a minor hit in the US. Then came Nothing Matters And What If It Did 1980, which included two quality top thirty singles in Ain't Even Done With The Night and This Time. The record received a luke warm response in the press, but the singles were enough to keep Mellencamp going, and in 1982 he had his first #1 hit record with American Fool, which contained the hits Jack And Diane (#1) and Hurts So Good (#2), and several other good ones, Hand To Hold On To and Weakest Moments.
Finally in 1983 John Cougar Mellencamp (the first use of his real last name on the cover of a record) made Uh-Huh. The first of several critically acclaimed records, Uh-Huh was also his first solid record the whole way through. The singles are front-loaded on side one with Pink Houses, Crumblin' Down and Authority Song, but the whole record is good. From there he moves on to Scarecrow 1985, another killer and where Mellencamp begins to write political songs of the American heartland. Rain On The Scarecrow was an impassioned plea for the American family farm, and became his theme song for thirty years of Farm Aid concerts with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan. Four singles charted.
The Lonesome Jubilee 1987 followed, and became one of his most successful records. The record is still rock, but contains country/folk/Americana influences and features violin and accordion to good effect for the first time. Heartland vignettes and more tales of rural America, not to mention another trio of hot singles including the fine Cherry Bomb, make for a very strong outing. Big Daddy 1989 continues in a similar vein, but is a bit darker owing to Mellencamp's second divorce. The singles didn't fare all that well, but the record continued Mellencamp's sales success.
After two Americana styled successes, Mellencamp eschewed the violin and accordion and returned with a back to basics rocking record, 1991's Whenever We Wanted. It's the hardest rocking record of his career, and it's a winner. Get A Leg Up, Now More Than Ever and Again Tonight all cracked the top 5, and the record was top 20 and went platinum. More importantly, it rocks like crazy from start to finish with all killer, no filler material. It is the debut of David Grissom with the band, and his big guitar sound beefs up the record considerably.
Both Human Wheels 1993 and Dance Naked 1994 were well received and included strong singles. Mellencamp sounds a little like he's coasting, but the records are both good. What If I Came Knocking from Human Wheels was his last #1 single. Then in 1996 comes Mr. Happy Go Lucky, and for the first time in a while, it receives mixed-to-negative reviews. With only one top 40 single (his last), and some weaker tracks, it portends Mellencamp's becoming something other than the big rock star filling stadiums. John Mellencamp 1998 goes a long way towards the same end. While Your Life Is Now and I'm Not Running Anymore are strong, the album as a whole is less satisfying. Reviews were better than the previous record, but they weren't stellar. Rough Harvest 1999 contains acoustic versions of some of Mellencamp's back catalog favorites recorded in 1997. It's a contract obligation record, and saw generally middling reviews.
Cuttin' Heads 2001 was well received and again showed Mellencamp mixing some rock with the folky sound that soon would dominate his work. It's got some good ones and some strong political statements. Trouble No More 2003 is a covers record of mostly blues and folk songs. Spare acoustic arrangements feature Mellencamp's voice to good effect, and the song selection is pretty good, at least if you like old country/folk music.
Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits 2004 is one of the finest "best of" collections anywhere. For 25 years Mellencamp made a mess of great singles, and they are all here, along with two new songs that hold up to the hits just fine. If you're a casual fan, this is all you need. It is nearly flawless, and well curated and sequenced.
Freedom's Road 2007 is the last sort-of rocking record he will make until 2023. It's a strong outing with a rootsy sound that reminds one of The Lonesome Jubilee. A bunch of good songs, lots of politics and social commentary, and the vocal backing of Little Big Town all add up to a late career winner. The next two, Life, Death, Love and Freedom 2008 and No Better Than This 2010 were both produced by T Bone Burnett, and both were well received in the press. Mellencamp once said that Life, Death, Love and Freedom "is as good as just about any record ever made." It's not, but it's OK. I'm never wild about Burnett's production jobs. No Better Than This was recorded in historic places such as Sun Studios and the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia and released to critical acclaim that baffles me no end. I've never been much of a lo-fi fan.
In 2010 On the Rural Route 7609 was released. It's an unusual four CD deep dive that mostly avoids the hits for songs Mellencamp feels might have been neglected, along with a few demos and acoustic works in progress. It's really for die hard fans.
From 2014 to 2022 Mellencamp released Plain Spoken 2014, Sad Clowns and Hillbillies featuring Carlene Carter 2017, Other People's Stuff 2018 (a compilation of mostly folky recent cover songs), and Strictly A One-Eyed Jack 2022. All of these records are rooted in folk/country/acoustic sounds with Mellencamp's ragged vocals. Springsteen duets on three on Strictly A One-Eyed Jack. The critics liked most of them, and I suppose you've got to respect the artist that remakes himself into something different instead of trying too hard to be his younger self.
And finally there's Orpheus Descending 2023. Yes, it's still Americana, but it has more kick than his other recent work. It's lyrically dense and Mellencamp's voice is almost shot, but it is a strong return to form, almost as good as The Lonesome Jubilee, and a late career high water mark.
What does one need from this expansive catalog? Words and Music is great, and probably all that most people really need. The Lonesome Jubilee is very good, and Whenever We Wanted is as good a rocker as anything ever. More recently Freedom's Road and Orpheus Descending are worth hearing.
There's a great quote in the book from Mellencamp himself. "I know why people don't buy my new albums. It's the same reason I don't buy the new Rolling Stones albums. I've got the good ones already."
