The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988

The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 is the first greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp, released by Mercury Records in 1997 (see 1997 in music). It compiles Mellencamp's most popular material recorded during his first decade with Riva and Mercury Records, beginning with 1978's A Biography, up through 1987's The Lonesome Jubilee, with a new recording of Terry Reid's "Without Expression". Mellencamp picked the songs for the album and also came up with the title for the album.[6] The album reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200.[7] This album and Rough Harvest came about because, after leaving Mercury Records for Columbia Records, Mellencamp still owed the label two more albums.[5]

The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988
Greatest hits album by
ReleasedNovember 18, 1997 (1997-11-18)[1]
Recorded1978–1997
Studio
GenreRock, heartland rock
Length58:51[1]
LabelMercury
Producer
CompilerJohn Mellencamp
John Mellencamp chronology
Mr. Happy Go Lucky
(1996)
The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988
(1997)
John Mellencamp
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic.com said that the album's title was suitable and while it did not include all of Mellencamp's hits, it is a good summary of Mellencamp's "remarkably consistent" work.[1] Robert Christgau described it as the best of John Mellencamp, which to him is not saying much.[3] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B" rating, describing it as "uncomplicated but sophisticated."[4]

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written by John Mellencamp, except where noted.

No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."I Need a Lover"A Biography5:38
2."Ain't Even Done with the Night"Nothin' Matters and What If It Did4:37
3."Hurts So Good" (Mellencamp, George Green)American Fool3:39
4."Jack and Diane"American Fool4:16
5."Crumblin' Down" (Mellencamp, Green)Uh-Huh3:36
6."Pink Houses"Uh-Huh4:45
7."Authority Song"Uh-Huh3:50
8."Lonely Ol' Night"Scarecrow3:46
9."Small Town"Scarecrow3:41
10."R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."Scarecrow2:55
11."Paper in Fire"The Lonesome Jubilee3:53
12."Cherry Bomb"The Lonesome Jubilee4:49
13."Check It Out"The Lonesome Jubilee4:20
14."Without Expression" (Terry Reid, Graham Nash (uncredited))Previously unreleased5:06

Japanese edition

The version released in Japan features two additional songs ("Miami" and a cover of "Under the Boardwalk," tracks 2 and 15, respectively), and places "Lonely Ol' Night" before "Authority Song".

No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."I Need a Lover"A Biography5:38
2."Miami"John Cougar3:53
3."Ain't Even Done with the Night"Nothin' Matters and What If It Did4:37
4."Hurts So Good" (Mellencamp, George Green)American Fool3:39
5."Jack and Diane"American Fool4:16
6."Crumblin' Down" (Mellencamp, Green)Uh-Huh3:36
7."Pink Houses"Uh-Huh4:45
8."Lonely Ol' Night"Scarecrow3:46
9."Authority Song"Uh-Huh3:50
10."Small Town"Scarecrow3:41
11."R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."Scarecrow2:55
12."Paper in Fire"The Lonesome Jubilee3:53
13."Cherry Bomb"The Lonesome Jubilee4:49
14."Check It Out"The Lonesome Jubilee4:20
15."Under the Boardwalk" (Resnick, Kenny Young)"R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." B-Side3:57
16."Without Expression" (Terry Reid, Graham Nash (uncredited))Previously unreleased5:06

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[2]

  • John Mellencamp (a.k.a. "Little Bastard" on some tracks) – vocals, guitar, songwriter, producer
  • Larry Crane – guitars, harmonica, background vocals, flutophone
  • Tom Knowles – drums on "I Need a Lover"
  • Robert "Ferd" Frank – bass, background vocals on "I Need a Lover"
  • Brian Bekvar – keyboards on "I Need a Lover"
  • John Punter – producer, engineer on "I Need a Lover"
  • Rick Shlosser – drums on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
  • Mike Wanchic – guitars, background vocals; producer on "Without Expression"
  • Kenny Aronoffvibes on "Ain't Even Done with the Night", drums, background vocals, hammer dulcimer
  • Eric Rosser – keyboards
  • Steve Cropper – producer on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
  • Bruce Robb – engineer on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
  • Dee Robb – engineer on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
  • George "Chocolate" Perry – bass on "Hurts So Good"
  • Dave Parman – background vocals on "Hurts So Good"
  • Don Gehman – producer/engineer on "Hurts So Good" thru "Check It Out"
  • George Tutko – engineer on "Hurts So Good"
  • Mick Ronson – guitar and background vocals on "Jack and Diane"
  • Toby Myers – bass, background vocals
  • Carroll Sue Hill – keyboards, background vocals
  • Greg Edward – engineer
  • David Thoener – engineer on "Pink Houses"
  • Sarah Flint – background vocals on "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."
  • John Cascella – keyboards, accordion
  • Lisa Germano – violin
  • Pat Peterson – background vocals
  • Crystal Taliefero – background vocals
  • Dane Clark – drums on "Without Expression"
  • Miriam Sturm – violin on "Without Expression"
  • Andy York – guitars, background vocals on "Without Expression"
  • Moe Z – keyboards, background vocals on "Without Expression"
  • Corsillo/Manzobe-Design Monsters – art direction
  • Paul Jasmin – photography

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 33
Australia (Top 50 Albums)[8] 5
Canada RPM 100 Albums/CDs[9] 9
UK (Top 40)[10] 25
New Zealand (Top 50 Albums)[11] 19

Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – US[12] Gold December 15, 1997
ARIA – Australia[13] Platinum 1997
RIAA – US[12] Platinum July 20, 1998
ARIA – Australia[14] 2x Multi-Platinum 1998
RIAA – US[12] 3x Platinum March 19, 2002

References

  1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2010). "The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 – John Mellencamp". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  2. The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (CD Liner). John Mellencamp. US: Mercury Records. 1997. pp. 9–11. 314 536 738-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. "CG: John Mellencamp". Robert Christgau. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  4. Wook Kim (December 12, 1997). "The Best That I Could Do (1978–1988) Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  5. "John Mellencamp: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  6. White, Timothy (1997). "Who's To Say the Way a Man Should Spend His Days: The First Two Hundred Years of the John Mellencamp Story". The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (CD liner). John Mellencamp. U.S.A.: Mercury Records. p. 8. 314 536 738-2.
  7. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-mellencamp-p105068/charts-awards/billboard-albums
  8. Steffen Hung. "John Mellencamp – The Best That I Could Do (1978–1988)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  9. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada".
  10. "John Mellencamp – The Best That I Could Do". Official Charts Company. January 17, 1998. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  11. Steffen Hung. "John Mellencamp – The Best That I Could Do (1978–1988)". charts.nz. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  12. https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH Type in "Mellencamp" under Artist.
  13. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Aria.com.au. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  14. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Albums". Aria.com.au. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
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