{"id":1169507,"date":"2026-08-26T01:14:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T01:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1169507\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T01:14:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T01:14:24","slug":"the-1985-album-john-mellencamp-called-the-peak-of-his-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1169507\/","title":{"rendered":"The 1985 album John Mellencamp called the peak of his career"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ John Mellencamp<\/p>\n

Tue 25 August 2026 22:00, UK <\/p>\n

John Mellencamp<\/a> is an interesting artist. <\/p>\n

Obviously, I don\u2019t mean musically, but you\u2019ve got to admit that it\u2019s kind of fascinating how he has carved out such a career, built such a name for himself, ingratiated himself with so many legends and stuck around so long without really being all that good at anything in particular. <\/p>\n

His voice isn\u2019t much to write home about; he always sounded like he was straining to sound like Bruce Springsteen, but he never made it beyond sounding like a micro-managing shift supervisor in comparison to Springsteen\u2019s standing as \u2018The Boss\u2019. <\/p>\n

His lyrics are fine, and occasionally they\u2019re even brilliant (\u201cNothing lasts forever, your best efforts don\u2019t always pay \/ Sometimes you get sick and you don\u2019t get better \/ That\u2019s when life is short, even in its longest days\u201d), but his music and arrangements that support those words are so often bland, stodgy and lifeless. Straight-ahead and down-the-line, sure, but hardly ever all that exciting (though \u2018Lonely \u2018Ol Night\u2019 is something of an exception). <\/p>\n

And that nickname? John \u2018Cougar\u2019 Mellencamp<\/a>? Come on. Is it really any wonder that Jakob Dylan called him an asshole during a show in Indiana a couple of years back, before adding \u201cThat motherfucker is such a prick\u201d? <\/p>\n

However, I\u2019ll say this for him, alongside his occasional bursts of self-awareness (\u201cYou think I\u2019m an asshole now, you should have seen me when I was drunk\u201d), that guy sure has always had a good head of hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, it seems, he\u2019s developed a better sense of himself as he\u2019s aged, recently conceding that \u201cI\u2019m not for everyone anymore\u201d. There was a time when he was for everyone, though; universally beloved by the Heartland rock masses in America, when he was touted as the next big thing and a keeper of the flame lit by people like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and John Fogerty. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just his peers who were riding the Cougar Express. His 1982 album American Fool went all the way to number one in the charts<\/a>, going platinum five times over in the process, while each of the rest of his releases in the \u201980s comfortably landed in the top ten. Even with all those sales, the endorsements from his heroes, and with 13 Grammy nominations to his name over the years (one win), in the days when he was for everyone, he was still always his own biggest fan. <\/p>\n

Further reading: From The Vault<\/strong><\/p>\n

Talking about the song \u2018Between a Laugh and a Tear\u2019 from his 1985 release Scarecrow, which made it as high as number two in the charts, he\u2019s said that \u201cthere\u2019s a great line in this song, \u2018I know there\u2019s a balance \/ I see it when I swing past.\u2019 I suffered severely from panic disorders and anxiety around this time. Still do. I\u2019m also very excitable and get angry very quickly. This was the peak of my success, but I didn\u2019t enjoy any of it.\u201d (You and me both, Cougar.)<\/p>\n

I guess that really comes back to what\u2019s so interesting about John \u2018Cougar\u2019 Mellencamp in the first place. Back when he was making music that everybody seemed to love, he wasn\u2019t enjoying himself, but now his shows are dividing opinions, getting mixed reviews and lukewarm receptions, and he seems to be enjoying himself more than ever. He knows there\u2019s a balance there somewhere, but when he sees it, he just swings right on past.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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