No artist in the 80’s represented heartland rock in the way that John Mellencamp did. 1982’s American Fool is his best-selling album due to its inclusion of smash hits “Jack & Diane” and “Hurts So Good”, but Mellencamp really began to find his feet as a songwriter during 1985’s Scarecrow which has always to me felt like that distinctive Mellencamp sound I hear in my head when I think of his career work. As soon as those opening chords open up on “Small Town” you’re immediately transported to a highway in Middle America driving past nothing but open fields and farmland. For most of my life I have visited family in Wabasha, MN and driven from the Minneapolis Airport down 61 South through Red Wing on my way home. And every time I make that drive I imagine Mellencamp on one of America’s hundred highways just like that some summer in 1984, soaking in the simple beauty of it all and feeling inspired to write a song that captures the spirit of America just like that.
Recorded in Mellencamp’s own personal “Belmont Mall” studio located in Indiana, the buildup to recording Scarecrow was an intensive process. Mellencamp and his band spent nearly a month ahead of recording in rehearsals, learning and playing over a hundred rock and roll songs from the 1960’s. The goal was simple– take in all of those classic devices from a bygone era by osmosis and apply them to Mellencamp’s arrangements in a way that felt natural. Mission accomplished on that front.
The year Scarecrow was released was also the year Mellencamp co-founded Farm Aid, an organization that helps to raise awareness about the loss of family farms in the United States and help keep those families on their lands. Those elements of corporate greed stripping America of its roots and tearing a fabric in society is prominent thematic manner in the album, and it should come as no surprise a principled man like Mellencamp would put his literal money where his mouth is. A noble cause for a long-time champion of the common man and one of the icons of heartland rock.
Standout Songs: “Small Town”, “Rain On The Scarecrow”, “Between A Laugh And A Tear”
Matthew. 