The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988

The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988
Greatest hits album by John Mellencamp
Released November 18, 1997 (1997-11-18)[1]
Recorded 1978-1997 at AIR Studios (London, England), Cherokee Studios (Los Angeles, California), Criteria Studios (Miami, Florida), TRC Studios (Indianapolis, Indiana), The Shack (Brownstown, Indiana), Belmont Mall (Nashville, Indiana)[2]
Genre Rock
Length 58:51[1]
Label Mercury
Producer John Punter, Steve Cropper, John Mellencamp, Don Gehman, Mike Wanchic[2]
Compiler John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp chronology
Mr. Happy Go Lucky
(September 1996)		 The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988
(November 1997)		 John Mellencamp
(October 1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
Robert Christgau [4]
Entertainment Weekly (B)[5]
Rolling Stone [6]

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." John Mellencamp picked the songs for the album and also came up with the title for the album.[7] The album reached #33 on the Billboard 200.[8] This album and Rough Harvest came about because, after leaving Mercury Records for Columbia Records, Mellencamp still owed the label two more albums.[6]

Contents

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the album's title was suitable and while it didn't include all of Mellencamp's hits, it is a good summary of Mellencamp's "remarkably consistent" work.[3] Robert Christgau described it as the best of John Mellencamp, which to him isn't saying much.[4] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B" rating, describing it as uncomplicated but sophisticated.[5]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by John Mellencamp, except where noted. 

No. Title Original release Length
1. "I Need a Lover"   A Biography 5:38
2. "Ain't Even Done with the Night"   Nothin' Matters and What If It Did 4:37
3. "Hurts So Good" (Mellencamp, George Green) American Fool 3:39
4. "Jack and Diane"   American Fool 4:16
5. "Crumblin' Down" (Mellencamp, Green) Uh-Huh 3:36
6. "Pink Houses"   Uh-Huh 4:45
7. "Authority Song"   Uh-Huh 3:50
8. "Lonely Ol' Night"   Scarecrow 3:46
9. "Small Town"   Scarecrow 3:41
10. "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."   Scarecrow 2:55
11. "Paper In Fire"   The Lonesome Jubilee 3:53
12. "Cherry Bomb"   The Lonesome Jubilee 4:49
13. "Check It Out"   The Lonesome Jubilee 4:20
14. "Without Expression" (Terry Reid) Previously unreleased 5:06

Personnel

Per liner notes[2]

Chart performance

Chart (1997) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[8] 33
Australia (Top 50 Albums)[9] 5
Canada RPM 100 Albums/CDs[10] 9
UK (Top 40)[11] 25
New Zealand (Top 50 Albums)[12] 19

Certifications

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

References

  1. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2010). "The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988 - John Mellencamp". Allmuic Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-that-i-could-do-1978-1988-r325970. Retrieved October 31, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c (1997) Album notes for The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 by John Mellencamp, pp. 9-11 [CD Liner]. U.S.A.: Mercury Records (314 536 738-2).
  3. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988 > Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-that-i-could-do-1978-1988-r325970/review. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
  4. ^ a b http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=John+Mellencamp
  5. ^ a b http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,290653,00.html
  6. ^ a b http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artist/album/news/artists/8828/58271/58352
  7. ^ 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", p. 8 [CD liner]. Album notes for The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 by John Mellencamp. U.S.A.: Mercury Records (314 536 738-2).
  8. ^ a b http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-mellencamp-p105068/charts-awards/billboard-albums
  9. ^ http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Mellencamp&titel=The+Best+That+I+Could+Do+%281978%2D1988%29&cat=a
  10. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.7899&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3
  11. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=13382
  12. ^ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=John+Mellencamp&titel=The+Best+That+I+Could+Do+%281978%2D1988%29&cat=a
  13. ^ a b c http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH Type in "Mellencamp" under Artist.
  14. ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1997.htm
  15. ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-1998.htm
John Mellencamp
Studio albums
Chestnut Street Incident (1976)  · The Kid Inside (1977)  · A Biography (1978) · John Cougar (1979)  · Nothin' Matters and What If It Did (1980)  · American Fool (1982) · Uh-Huh (1983)  · Scarecrow (1985)  · The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)  · Big Daddy (1989)  · Whenever We Wanted (1991)  · Human Wheels (1993)  · Dance Naked (1994)  · Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996) · John Mellencamp (1998) · Rough Harvest (1999)  · Cuttin' Heads (2001) · Trouble No More (2003) · Freedom's Road (2007) · Life, Death, Love and Freedom (2008) · No Better Than This (2010)
Live albums
Compilations
The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (1997)  · Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits (2004)  · 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of John Mellencamp (2007)  · On the Rural Route 7609 (2010)
Singles
Other