Scarecrow – John Mellencamp
The year is 1985, Neighbours debuts on channel 7, and Amadeus wins Best Picture at the Academy Awards. And John Mellencamp releases his eighth studio album Scarecrow.
Scarecrow
Scarecrow contained three top-10 hits. “R.O.C.K in the USA” “Lonely Ol’ Night” and “Smalltown”. The album also contained other great tracks like “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “You’ve gotta stand for something”.
Back in 1985, John explained in an interview with Creem Magazine, That he wrote a song called “Stand for Something” and he never did say what you should stand for – except your own truth.
The album Scarecrow fits into the genre of Heartland Rock, which is a straightforward roots musical style, with a focus on the blue-collar working class. However, the individual songs fit into their genres, like Lonely Ol Night, is a rock song in it’s own right.
Sweet Memories
If you’re sitting back and having a glass of your favourite poison, and feeling a bit nostalgic, then this album is for you. It takes you on a road trip back when things were simpler. It salutes 60’s rock, with R.O.C.K in the USA, takes you back to your first love, and takes you home again.
Now here we are in 2023, almost 2024, and we listen to music electronically. But no not me, I have a cheap hundred-dollar record player, and the sound is so bad it’s so good. Not quite the crackle of a well-worn needle, but still it’s close enough.
The album I am listening to is a re-issue, and it has the bonus track “The kinda fella I Am” as recorded on the cassette and CD. You can buy a copy here.
Album Listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Rain on the Scarecrow” (Mellencamp, George M. Green) | 3:46 |
| 2. | “Grandma’s Theme” (traditional[A]) | 0:56 |
| 3. | “Small Town“ | 3:41 |
| 4. | “Minutes to Memories” (Mellencamp, Green) | 4:11 |
| 5. | “Lonely Ol’ Night“ | 3:45 |
| 6. | “The Face of the Nation” | 3:13 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 7. | “Justice and Independence ’85” | 3:32 |
| 8. | “Between a Laugh and a Tear” | 4:32 |
| 9. | “Rumbleseat” | 2:58 |
| 10. | “You’ve Got to Stand for Somethin'” | 4:32 |
| 11. | “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to 60’s Rock)“ | 2:54 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | “The Kind of Fella I Am” ([B]) | 2:55 |
John Mellencamp
This article refers to John as John Mellencamp, but during the recording of this album, John was known as John Cougar Mellencamp. He has performed under different names but the same names if that makes sense.
From 1976 to 1982 he performed as Johnny Cougar and John Cougar. From 83 to 90 John Cougar Mellencamp. 1991 to 1997 John Mellencamp.
How he became Johnny Cougar, a manager Tony Defries insisted that Johns’s first album Chestnut Street Incident be released under the stage name Johnny Cougar. Insisting the German Name Mellencamp was too hard to market. In a 2005 Interview, John recounts.
“That [name] was put on me by some manager. I went to New York and everybody said, ‘You sound like a hillbilly.’ And I said, ‘Well, I am.’ So that’s where he came up with that name. I was totally unaware of it until it showed up on the album jacket. When I objected to it, he said, ‘Well, either you’re going to go for it, or we’re not going to put the record out.’ So that was what I had to do… but I thought the name was pretty silly.”
Anyway back to Scarecrow, if you don’t have it in your collection, you need it. Just remember if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.
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