''Other People's Stuff'' is a compilation album of cover songs by American

roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...

musician

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

. The collection was released by

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

on December 7, 2018. The album collects cover songs that Mellencamp previously recorded for various tribute albums, a documentary soundtrack and four of his own studio albums over the past 25 years. The album contains only one song not previously available—a 2012 studio recording of “Eyes on the Prize”, which was the album's only single. Several of the songs have been at least slightly remixed from their initial release. The CD version of “Teardrops Will Fall,” originally released on Mellencamp's 2003 covers album ''

Trouble No More ''Trouble No More'' is American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp's 18th studio album and his final recording for Columbia Records, released in 2003. It consists of blues and folk covers. A re-working of "To Washington" featuring ...

'', is recast as a duet with Karen Fairchild from

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbro ...

, with her newly recorded vocal remixed in with Mellencamp's original 2003 vocal. The vinyl and digital versions of the album do not include Fairchild's contribution. While "I Don't Know Why I Love You" was originally released in 2003, Mellencamp recorded it in 1987 during the sessions for his ''

The Lonesome Jubilee ''The Lonesome Jubilee'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, credited as John Cougar Mellencamp. The album was released by Mercury Records on August 24, 1987 (see 1987 in music). Four singles were released fro ...

'' album.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album three out of five stars, calling it a "summation of what Mellencamp loves about America." In '' Paste'', Lee Zimmerman gave the recording a 7.2 out of 10, writing that several songs "maintain that sense of resolve, yet still offer due reverence to the originals." The album debuted at the top of the

Top Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart.

Track listing

#"To the River" – 3:32 (originally from 1993's ''

Human Wheels ''Human Wheels'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp. Released on Mercury Records on September 7, 1993, it peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The single "What If I Came Knocking" was Mellencamp's last ...

'') #"Gambling Bar Room Blues" – 3:14 (originally from 1997's ''The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers – A Tribute'') #"Teardrops Will Fall" – 4:16 (originally from 2003's ''

'') #"In My Time of Dying" – 3:01 (originally from 1999's ''

Rough Harvest ''Rough Harvest'' is the 16th album by American singer John Mellencamp, a collection of alternate, acoustic arrangements of his favorite tracks, as well as several covers, released on August 17, 1999. Recorded mostly in 1997 (with the exception ...

'') #"Mobile Blue" – 3:01 (originally from 2017's ''

Sad Clowns & Hillbillies ''Sad Clowns & Hillbillies'' is the 23rd studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp. It was released on April 28, 2017 by Republic Records. The album features significant contributions from Carlene Carter, who worked ...

'') #"Eyes on the Prize" – 2:45 (new recording, song previously performed at The White House in 2010) #"Dark as a Dungeon" – 4:10 (originally from the 2017 National Geographic Channel documentary ''From the Ashes'') #"Stones in My Passway" – 3:13 (originally from 2003's ''

'') #"Wreck of the Old 97" – 3:58 (originally from 2004's ''The Rose and The Briar'') #"I Don't Know Why I Love You" – 3:08 (originally from 2003's ''An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs'')

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, paintings,

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Additional musicians

Kenny Aronoff Kenny Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American session drummer. Early life Aronoff grew up in Stockbridge, Massachusetts He developed an interest in music at an early age and gravitated to the drums as "drumming was one hundred percent ene ...

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

* John Cascella *

Dane Clark Dane Clark (born Bernard Zanville; February 26, 1912September 11, 1998) was an American character actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average." Early life Clark was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Jewish imm ...

* Michael Clark * Larry Crane *

Lisa Germano Lisa Ruth Germano (born June 27, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Indiana. Her album '' Geek the Girl'' (1994) was chosen as a top album of the 1990s by ''Spin'' magazine. She began her career as a violinist ...

David Grissom David Grissom is an American guitarist who has played and toured with several of America's leading bands and recording artists. He is best known for his work with John Mellencamp. He has released four solo albums: ''Loud Music'', ''10,000 Feet ...

*John Gunnell *

Heather Headley Heather Headley (born October 5, 1974) is a Trinidadian-born American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the titular role of ''Aida''. She also won the 2010 Grammy Aw ...

* Janas Hoyt * Courtney Kaiser * Troye Kinnett *

Paul Mahern Paul Mahern (born September 11, 1963) is an American rock and pop record producer, mixing and mastering engineer, singer, songwriter, professor, and yoga teacher. Mahern has worked with acts such as John Mellencamp, Lily & Madeleine, The Fray, Ig ...

(also

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

) *

Toby Myers Toby Myers, born Jeffrey G. Myers on September 26, 1949, is an American bass player best known for recording and touring with John Cougar Mellencamp as the bass guitarist. Myers was raised in the Indianapolis, Indiana area where he attended art sc ...

* Pat Peterson *Michael Ramos *

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band is a three-piece American country blues band from Brown County, Indiana. They have played up to 250 dates per year at venues ranging from bars to festivals since 2006. To date, they have released ten albums a ...

* Miriam Sturm * Mike Wanchic *Andy York

Technical personnel

*Scott Davis – assistant engineering *Rick Fettig – assistant engineering *Ray Kennedy – engineering * David Leonard – engineering *Joe Spix – art direction and design *Myrna Suarez – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 compilation albums Covers albums John Mellencamp compilation albums Republic Records compilation albums