John Cougar

Artist: John Cougar
Label: Island / Mercury
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 042281499524
EAN: 0042281499524
ASIN: B000001F57

Release Date: 1990-10-25

John Cougar

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General

| Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

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Singer-Songwriters

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Hard Rock

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Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)

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Tracks:

A Little Night Dancin'
Small Paradise
Miami
Great Mid-West
Do You Think That's Fair
I Need A Lover
Welcome To Chinatown
Sugar Marie
Pray For Me
Taxi Dancer

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John Mellencamp
Nothin' Matters and What If It Did
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American Fool
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Customer Reviews:

a classic!.......2007-05-20

in my(minority)opinion this is by far mellencamp's finest album.

every song is great,especially "the great midwest","sugar marie" and the agonizingly heart-breaking "taxi dancer."

you need it man!

Great "first" album -- and his best.......2006-02-01

I bought this album in 1979 when it came out based on the strength of "I Need a Lover", which fortunately, was played on my local station far more than Pat Benatar's lame cover. That was back in the days when you HAD to buy an album based on the one or two tracks that you heard on the radio. While my personal favorite is "Do You Think That's Fair?", the whole album is good, and I think, his best. "Nothin' Matters" was a letdown for me, and I stopped buying Mr. Mellen-Cougar-camp's albums after that. This one, however, is a keeper.

Solid Early Effort.......2004-10-19

"John Cougar" was John Mellencamp's third record, although it was his first major label release and yielded his breakthrough hit. I first became aware of John Mellencamp in 1982 when I was 12 and he released "American Fool," which included the huge hits "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane." I purchased this CD about a year ago, mostly for "I Need a Lover," which I occasionally heard on classic rock stations. I wasn't very impressed. At first listen, the CD sounded too slick and a long way from the roots rocker Mellencamp would eventually become. However, after giving it a second chance and several more listens, I've come to like "John Cougar" quite a bit. It's clearly not as good as his later music, but the promise he would later show is here.

"I Need a Lover" is one of the best songs here, and became his first hit, peaking at #28 on the Top 100 in 1979. I love the extended piano and guitar introduction; Mellencamp's vocals don't kick in until the 2:30 mark. Another highlight is the hard-rocking "Miami." The chorus is arresting, replete with handclaps similar to "Jack of Diane." In addition, the instrumentation is interesting and reminds me a bit of his later song "Key West Intermezzo."

"Great Mid-West" is another interesting song, as it really shows the direction he'd eventually move - chronicling the lives of people who live a simple life in the heartland. The opening couplet is fantastic - "Everything is slower here/ everybody's got a union card." The music for the song, though, doesn't quite jell, especially the heavy-metal style guitar licks. Indeed the major drawback of the CD is the slickness that creeps in here and there. Clearly, Mellencamp's label wanted him to be a vapid rock idol. However, Mellencamp's writing skills help keep the CD on track, and the highlights definitely cover the rough patches. Overall, although not as skillful as Mellencamp's later CDs, "John Cougar" is worthwhile.

little steps.......2003-12-13

I saw a revealing interview with "Johnny Cougar" on an Australian TV variety program back in '79/80. After performing "I Need A Lover" - a big hit down under - Cougar was asked about his ambitions.
His reply was unusually honest for commercial TV, saying that he was still trying to "find" his voice and was unsure about his current direction. This album represents where Cougar was at back then, and is a snapshot of a certain time. He would go on to develop and hone his instincts in later releases but this is a fair starting point.

By the way: this album is not his debut - that "honour" belongs to John's 1976 album "Chestnut Street Incident", followed by "The Kid Inside".

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