John Cougar Mellencamp - Greatest Hits '82-'89 (PBTHAL LP 24-96) vtwin88cube

allmusic.com...

One of the cornerstones of the heartland rock movement of the 1980s, John Mellencamp's most famous music is full of passion, heart, and understanding of the lives of ordinary folks living in the American Midwest, and his characters haven't change much with time, even when his music did. Mellencamp's musical roots are in the sounds of the 1960s, particularly the muscular wallop of the Rolling Stones and their garage-y imitators, along with the folk-rock revolution pioneered by Bob Dylan. His early hits, such as "Hurts So Good," "Jack & Diane," and "Pink Houses," are knowing sketches of small-town life accompanied by a crack rock & roll band, and albums like 1982's American Fool and 1983's Uh-Huh took him to stardom. As his career progressed, Mellencamp evolved toward socially conscious storytelling; he co-founded the charity Farm Aid the same year he released his defining album, 1985's Scarecrow, which reflects the same kind of populist philosophies.