''Scarecrow'' is the eighth studio album by

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 ...

. Released in August 1985, it peaked at number two on the US chart. The remastered version was released May 24, 2005 on

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

/UMe and includes one bonus track. On November 4, 2022, a "deluxe" two-CD remastered and remixed version of the album was released."John Mellencamp To Reissue "Scarecrow" - "Scarecrow Deluxe" Out November 4th"
Mellencamp.com. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.Andrew Gulden
"Review: John Mellencamp 'Scarecrow' Reissue"
''Americana Highways''. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022. This album contained three top-ten hits, a record for a Mellencamp album: "

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", subtitled "A Salute to 60's 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 Trac ...

", which peaked at number two in the US; " Lonely Ol' Night", which peaked at number six; and "

Small Town "Small Town" is a 1985 song written by John Mellencamp and released on his 1985 album ''Scarecrow''. The song reached #6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #13 Adult Contemporary. Content Mellencamp wrote the song about his experiences ...

", which also peaked at number six. "Lonely Ol' Night" also peaked at number one on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, his second chart-topping single on this chart. In 1989, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine ranked ''Scarecrow'' number 95 on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, saying: "''Scarecrow'' consolidated the band's rugged,

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, ...

thrash and the ongoing maturation of Mellencamp's lyrics."

Background

''Rolling Stone'' also reported that the band spent a month in rehearsals, playing a hundred

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

songs from the 1960s before going into the studio. According to the record's producer, Don Gehman, the idea was to "learn all these devices from the past and use them in a new way with John's arrangements." The album was recorded at Mellencamp's own "Belmont Mall" studio in

Belmont, Indiana Belmont is an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Brown County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. History A post office was established at Belmont in 1884, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1916. In 1907 Hoosier G ...

. The overall theme of the album is the fading of the American dream in the face of corporate greed. ''

'' wrote that songs such as "Face of the Nation", "Minutes to Memories" and "Small Town" have a "bittersweet, reflective tone". In his 2016

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

exhibit, Mellencamp said: "With ''Scarecrow'', I was finally starting to find my feet as a songwriter. Finally, for the first time, I realized what I thought I wanted to say in song. ...I wanted it to be more akin to

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

, as opposed to

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Songs

"I wrote a song called 'Stand for Something'," Mellencamp explained to ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...

'' magazine in late 1985, "but I never did say what you should stand for – except your own truth. That song was supposed to be funny, too, and I hope people got that. But I think that's the key to the whole LP – suggesting that each person come to grips with their own individual truth – and try to like themselves a little bit more. Find out what you as a person are – and don't let the world drag you down. People should have respect for and believe in themselves." Mellencamp told ''Creem'' that he was "kinda disappointed" in "R.O.C.K. (In The U.S.A.)" and "Justice and Independence '85", saying: "I don't think people are getting the idea of what the song's about, so I must've not done a very good job." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said of the single "Rain on the Scarecrow" that it's "solid, riveting rock and roll from an American treasure" and represents an "impassioned plea on behalf of America’s small farmers." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said it consists of "raw rage and bleak visions of a disintegrating way of life." ''

'' said of the single "Rumbleseat" that "the distinctive, rocking style of Mellencamp is put to great effect." ''

'' said that it's "stripped down

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

with a moral to it." The 2005 remaster of the album adds an additional track: an acoustic version of "Small Town" that one reviewer calls the album's "best moment". On November 4, 2022, a remastered and remixed deluxe box set of the album on CD includes all of the 13 tracks of the 2005 remaster as its first disc. A second disc of

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

and alternative versions, some previously unreleased, is also included. A simultaneous release of these songs was also made in 24bit-96kHz

high-resolution audio High-resolution audio (high-definition audio or HD audio) is a term for audio files with greater than 44.1 kHz sample rate or higher than 16-bit audio bit depth. It commonly refers to 96 or 192 kHz sample rates. However, there also ex ...

. The album was also released on one LP with the 11 tracks of the original LP plus "The Kind of Fella I Am". New

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

by music critic

Anthony DeCurtis Anthony DeCurtis (born June 25, 1951) is an American author and music critic, who has written for ''Rolling Stone,'' the ''New York Times'', ''Relix'' and many other publications. Career DeCurtis is a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', w ...

accompany the physical releases. Two outtakes from the Scarecrow sessions, "Carolina Shag" and "Smart Guys", were released for the first time on the deluxe box set.

Track listing

All songs written by

, except where noted.

Original release

Re-releases

Personnel

*John Mellencamp – vocals, guitar, harmonica on "Small Town" * Larry Crane – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, backing vocals *

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 ...

– drums, tambourine, vibes, backing vocals *Mike Wanchic – electric guitars, backing vocals * Toby Myers – electric bass, backing vocals *John Cascella – keyboards *

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including Rock music, rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B ...

– vocals on "Between a Laugh and a Tear" *Sarah Flint – background vocals on "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." *Laura Mellencamp (John Mellencamp's grandmother) – lead vocal on "Grandma's Theme" *Mimi Mapes – backing vocals on "Minutes to Memories" *A. Jack Wilkins – saxophone on "Justice and Independence '85" *Richard Fanning – trumpet on "Justice and Independence '85" *

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

– slide guitar on "The Kind of Fella I Am"

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1985 albums John Mellencamp albums Albums produced by Don Gehman Riva Records albums