Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

Disc 1
1	Walk Tall 3:45
2	Pink Houses 4:45
3	Lonely Ol' Night 3:46
4	Jackie Brown 4:03
5	Rain on the Scarecrow 3:46
6	Love and Happiness 3:54
7	Check It Out 4:21
8	Peaceful World 4:06
9	Paper in Fire 3:52
10	Your Life Is Now 3:59
11	Human Wheels 5:36
12	When Jesus Left Birmingham 5:16
13	Authority Song 3:50
14	What If I Came Looking 5:06
15	Crumblin' Down 3:36
16	Small Town 3:42
17	R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. 2:55
18	Cherry Bomb 4:49
19	Pop Singer 2:46
Disc 2
1	Thank You 3:38
2	Martha Say 3:43
3	Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) 4:54
4	Hand to Hold on To 3:25
5	I Need a Lover 5:36
6	Hurts So Good 3:41
7	Get a Leg Up 3:47
8	Wild Night 3:28
9	Dance Naked 3:01
10	Teardrops Will Fall 4:20
11	Ain't Even Done With the Night 4:38
12	Just Another Day 3:31
13	Jack & Diane 4:17
14	Rumble Seat 2:59
15	I'm Not Running Anymore 3:27
16	Again Tonight 3:18
17	This Time 4:20
18	Now More Than Ever 3:43
Disc 3
1	Crumblin' Down Bonus Track / DVD
2	R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. Bonus Track / DVD
3	Rain on the Scarecrow Bonus Track / DVD
4	Check It Out Live / Bonus Track / DVD
5	Key West Intermezzo (I Saw Your First) Bonus Track / DVD

Barnes & Noble

He's been a cocky rocker (often referring to himself as "little bastard"), a deft interpreter of the roots music of bygone days, and a spokesman for the workingman. But no matter what guise he dons, it's always clear that John Mellencamp is the closest thing his generation has produced to an archetypal American songwriter. This career-spanning collection offers nearly 40 snapshots of Mellencamp in action, from early hits like "I Need a Lover" and "Jack and Diane" -- quintessential midwestern romances infused with a potent dose of the region's deeply ingrained grit -- to more pointed early-'80s favorites such as "Rain on the Scarecrow" and "Small Town." Although Mellencamp became less of a chart-topping fixture in the '90s, he didn't lose a whit of his artistic potency, as evidenced by the steely "When Jesus Left Birmingham" (culled from 1993's Human Wheels) and his duet with Meshell Ndegeocello on a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night." Mellencamp doesn't waste the opportunity to debut fresh material on Words and Music. In fact, the pair of new songs -- both collaborations with Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds -- might well be Mellencamp's best in ages, particularly "Walk Tall," a poignant-yet-pugnacious plea for tolerance that benefits from the soulful sheen added by Edmonds. Even a quarter century into his career, John Mellencamp is still unquestionably the Hoosier Daddy. David Sprague

All Music Guide

John Mellencamp has been in need of a thorough, career-spanning compilation for a while, and Island/UTV's 2004 release Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits finally fills that gap. His previous hits collection, 1997's The Best That I Could Do, was too short, since he had more hits than could fit on a brief 14-track disc. Words & Music doesn't have the problem of brevity. Spanning 37 songs over two discs, this has nearly all of his charting hits. Radio hits like "Justice and Independence '85" and "Rooty Toot Toot" may be absent, but they're not missed, since all the big hits are here, including "Pink Houses," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Paper in Fire," "Authority Song," "Crumblin' Down," "Small Town," "Hurts So Good," and "Jack & Diane," among many others (including two solid new songs). The biggest complaint that could be lodged against this collection is that the sequencing is doggedly nonchronological, which may upset some listeners who would like to hear his career evolve, but this sequencing flows like a good concert and highlights the common threads in his music from 1978 to 2004. As such, it's not only a good collection of hits, but it's a good career summary and introduction, as well. [Initial pressings of Words & Music contained a bonus DVD containing videos for "Crumblin' Down," "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.," "Rain on the Scarecrow," "Check It Out (Live)," and "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)."] Stephen Thomas Erlewine