Todays classic album is Scarecrow (1985) by John Mellencamp. Scarecrow is the eighth album by John Mellencamp. Released in November 1985, it peaked at #2 on the U.S. charts. The remastered version was released May 24, 2005 on Mercury/Island/UMe and includes one bonus track. This album contained three Top 10 hits, a record for a Mellencamp album: R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., which peaked at #2 in the U.S.; Lonely Ol Night, which peaked at #6; and Small Town, which also peaked at #6. Lonely Ol Night also peaked at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, his second chart-topping single on this chart. John Mellencamps Scarecrow is a singular masterpiece. It reveals an artist expanding his ambitions, and creating a work that will live for ages. He is searching for American soul. Not as in soul music; as in the soul. As other great rock musicians have done, he demonstrates the universality of very specific instances. When he sings about his small town, its about everybodys small town...even NYC. Uh-Huh found John Mellencamp coming into his own, but he perfected his heartland rock with Scarecrow. A loose concept album about lost innocence and the crumbling of small-town America, Scarecrow says as much with its tough rock and gentle folk-rock as it does with its lyrics, which remain a weak point for Mellencamp. Nevertheless, his writing has never been more powerful: Rain on the Scarecrow and Small Town capture the hopes and fears of Middle America, while Lonely Ol Night and Rumbleseat effortlessly convey the desperate loneliness of being stuck in a dead-end life. Those four songs form the core of the album, and while the rest of the album isnt quite as strong, thats only a relative term, since its filled with lean hooks and powerful, economical playing that make Scarecrow one of the definitive blue-collar rock albums of the mid-80s. In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Scarecrow #95 on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, saying: Scarecrow consolidated the bands rugged, roots-rock thrash and the ongoing maturation of Mellencamps lyrics. Rolling Stone also reported that band spent a month in rehearsals, playing a hundred rock and roll songs from the Sixties before going into the studio. According to the records producer, Don Gehman, the idea was to learn all these devices from the past and use them in a new way with Johns arrangements. The overall theme of the album is the fading of the American dream in the face of corporate greed. Rolling Stone wrote that songs such as Face of the Nation, Minutes to Memories and Small Town have a bittersweet, reflective tone. The album opens with the harrowing drums and brittle guitars of Rain On The Scarecrow, and right away, you get the feeling Mellencamp is out to make a statement. Not only in a socio-political manner, but in an independent, artistic one. Hes saying, Look at me now. His declaratory tone during that song, hushed comments followed by snarled anger, is the sound of a farmer sitting on his porch, telling you why life aint that great right now. And it still feels right now, as theres an immediacy to this work that you can still feel 20 years later. This album has not aged a bit; I dont think it ever will. After a guest appearance by his grandmom, we hear the familiar chords of Small Town with John once again visiting territory he explored with Pink Houses. People in L.A. identify with Small Town...which makes no earthly sense at all, but at the same time feels completely right. Small Town is a song written by John Mellencamp and released on his 1985 album Scarecrow. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Mellencamp wrote the song about his experiences growing up in a small town in Indiana, having been born in Seymour, Indiana, and living in Bloomington, Indiana, which, at the time of the release of the song, was much smaller. The music video has references to both towns. After that, Mellencamp has been known as champion of small town America. Small Town was also used as the theme song for the Discovery Times documentary series Off to War, which covered Arkansas Army National Guard soldiers, most of them from rural Clarksville, Arkansas, during their tour of duty in Operation: Iraqi Freedom. The song is played after Green Bay Packers games. For a while, it was performed by Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra prior to and in closing the Small Town News sketches featured on Late Show with David Letterman. Minutes to Memories is another example of a maturing Mellencamp, more confident in his songwriting skills, and also in his production.The relatively quiet verses versus the proclamatory choruses, both rising as the song progresses, mixing in a varied palette of instruments hed never used before...it all contributes to an amazing listening experience. Lonely Ol Night is a rock song written and performed by singer-songwriter John Mellencamp. It appeared on his 1985 album Scarecrow, and was released as a single, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number 1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart, staying at the top spot for five weeks. The title of Lonely Ol Night was inspired by the 1963 film Hud starring Paul Newman, based on a book by Larry McMurtry. Mellencamp had seen the film many times as a young man, and its portrayal of Newmans characters strained relationship with his father affected Mellencamp deeply, inspiring many of his song ideas. Lonely Ol Night was the lead single from Scarecrow, following his previous hit single Authority Song (from 1983s Uh-Huh) to the Billboard Hot 100, where it debuted August 24, 1985. It peaked at number 6 on that chart and reached number 1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart, staying at the top spot for five weeks. It was Mellencamps second chart-topper on the Top Rock Tracks chart, following 1982s Hurts So Good. Face of A Nation flirts with being ham-fisted and heavy-handed, but it holds interest as you hear Mellencamp experimenting with one of his different voices. On subsequent albums, it will become more obvious, but here he alters his tone and inflection, becoming the voice that the song demands. Justice & Independence 85 is a thrilling tour-de-force of all that is good is rock. Get over the little parable about the kids named Justice and Independence, and what you have is shout-out, butt-shaking rock..plete with sha-la-las, erupting bursts of horns, manic drums (this is an album for drum lovers...) and furious, dive-bombing guitars. Between A Laugh and A Tear will allow you to catch your breath, as its a soothing duet with Rickie Lee Jones...almost pretty, which is an adjective rarely used when describing Mellencamp material. Rumbleseat shows John to be a master at this type of fun-loving, story-song, mid-tempo rocker...hed soon perfect this with Cherry Bomb although I like this one a bit more. It reminds me of John Fogerty...this years summer tour should prove my instincts right about that. If theres one clunker on the album, its Youve Got To Stand For Somethin. While I get the sentiment, I didnt enjoy its presentation. The music is uninspired, especially when youve been exposed to the previous eight or nine songs. The melody is not memorable. The lyrics are kinda cool though, so make sure you at least read em. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., subtitled A Salute to 60s Rock, is a rock song written and performed by John Mellencamp. It was the third single from his 1985 album Scarecrow and a top-ten hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Rock Tracks charts. According to Mellencamp biography Born in a Small Town, Mellencamp was initially reluctant to include R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. on Scarecrow, feeling the song was too light-hearted to include alongside the otherwise grim songs such as Rain on the Scarecrow and Face of the Nation. Mellencamp told Timothy White in a 1986 article for the Illinois Entertainer of his decision to include R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. on Scarecrow: It was one of those absolute last-split-second decisions. I was only including it on the cassette and CD copies of Scarecrow as a bonus party track, but my manager loved the energy of it and I thought, Yeah! What the hell! Mellencamp required his band to learn how to play hundreds of songs from the 1960s before recording Scarecrow, and the song includes several direct musical references to 1960s songs, including The Troggs Wild Thing. The song was recorded at Belmont Mall in Belmont, Indiana. The recording was produced by Mellencamp (under the alias Little Bastard) and Don Gehman, engineered by Gehman and Greg Edward, backing Mellencamp on the recording were Kenny Aronoff (drums), Toby Myers (bass), Mike Wanchic (guitars, background vocals), Larry Crane (guitars, flutophone), John Cascella (keyboards), and Sarah Flint (background vocals). R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. was the third single from Scarecrow, following Lonely Ol Night and Small Town. Like the previous two singles, it was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, entering the Top 40 on February 15, 1986 and peaking at #2 behind Falcos Rock Me Amadeus. The song also reached #6 on the Top Rock Tracks chart in October 1985. During George W. Bushs first presidential campaign, R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. was played at a campaign event. While Mellencamp had denied the request of President Ronald Reagan to use Pink Houses as a campaign song in 1984, he expressed reluctance to object to Bushs use of R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. at the event, telling Rolling Stone that despite his opposition to Bushs political positions, I dont see any sense in being silly about it. Its entertainment. Its a song. Kind of Fella I Am is a small song, one of Johns pseudo-autobiographical tunes tagged on at the end...the album FEELS over after R.O.C.K. but this one still rocks nevertheless. The extra acoustic Small Town is an interesting counterpoint to the full-band version, and will be most enjoyed by those who are overly familiar with the original version and want to hear something new.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 17:59:46 +0000
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