Massive, Career-Spanning John Mellencamp Boxed Set Out This Fall

John Mellencamp 1978 – 2012, a uniquely comprehensive boxed set collection covering the legendary singer/songwriter’s principal studio albums, will be released by Universal Music Enterprises on December 10. Pre-orders now at www.amazon.com ensure holiday delivery. The collection consists of a total of 19 CDs originally released over a recording career that spans 35 years.

John Mellencamp 1978- 2012, for the first time, combines in one package, albums Mellencamp recorded as John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp and John Mellencamp for Polygram, Universal, Sony and Concord-affiliated labels. The set contains a total of 223 tracks and includes such mythic album titles as American Fool, Lonesome Jubilee, Scarecrow, Cuttin’ Heads and the more recent Life, Death Love and Freedom and No Better Than This. Thirteen of the albums in the collection were RIAA®-certified as Gold, Platinum or Multiplatinum winners while ten of the albums achieved Top Ten status on Billboard’s Top 100 Album Chart.  Of special note is the fact that the collection includes the long out-of-print original soundtrack album to Falling From Grace, the Mellencamp-directed film that was a collaboration with noted author Larry McMurty. That disc includes tracks by Mellencamp, Dwight Yoakam, Nanci Griffith, Joe Ely, James McMurtry and John Prine.

John Mellencamp 1978- 2012 includes every one of Mellencamp’s thirty Billboard Top 100 singles, from “I Need A Lover” and “Jack & Diane” to “Pink Houses” and “Rain On The Scarecrow,” as well as such classics as “Paper in Fire,” “Hurts So Good,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Jackie Brown,” “Small Town,” “Wild Night,” “R.O.C.K In The U.S.A.,” “Our Country” and, quite literally, all the rest.  There are bonus tracks concluding twelve of the albums, sourced from the 2005 re-mastered versions of Mellencamp’s Mercury releases.

Mellencamp, who continues to reside in his native Indiana, has been especially active of late.  Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, his collaboration with bestselling author Stephen King and musical director T Bone Burnett, has manifested itself as a touring theatrical entity with dates throughout the Midwest this fall.  An accomplished painter, Mellencamp has had numerous gallery exhibitions of his work; the latest, his first museum exhibition, is set to open next month at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.

In recent years Mellencamp was the recipient of Billboard’s Century Award, the Woody Guthrie Award, The ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The John Steinbeck Award as well as induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This past week it was announced that John Mellencamp is a candidate for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Mellencamp holds the record for the most tracks (7) by a solo artist to hit the top position on Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart, all of which are, of course, included in John Mellencamp 1978 – 2012.

Never content to rest on his many laurels, Mellencamp has been writing new songs for an album he plans to record early this coming year, once more with T Bone Burnett slated to produce.

Track listing: John Mellencamp 1978 – 2012

John Cougar

  1. A Little Night Dancin’
  2. Small Paradise
  3. Miami
  4. Great Mid-west
  5. Do You Think That’s Fair
  6. I Need A Lover
  7. Welcome To Chinatown
  8. Sugar Marie
  9. Pray For Me
  10. Taxi Dancer
  11. Take Home Pay (Bonus Track)

Nothin’ Matters And What If It Did

  1. Hot Night In A Cold Town
  2. Ain’t Even Done With The Night
  3. Don’t Misunderstand Me
  4. This Time
  5. Make Me Feel
  6. To M.G. (Wherever She May Be)
  7. Tonight
  8. Cry Baby
  9. Wild Angel
  10. Peppermint Twist
  11. Cheap Shot
  12. Latest Game (Bonus Track)

American Fool

  1. Hurts So Good
  2. Jack & Diane
  3. Hand To Hold On To
  4. Danger List
  5. Can You Take It
  6. Thundering Hearts
  7. China Girl
  8. Close Enough
  9. Weakest Moments
  10. American Fool (Bonus Track)

Uh-Huh

  1. Crumblin’ Down
  2. Pink Houses
  3. Authority Song
  4. Warmer Place To Sleep
  5. Jackie O
  6. Play Guitar
  7. Serious Business
  8. Lovin’ Mother Fo Ya
  9. Golden Gates
  10. Pink Houses (acoustic version) (Bonus Track)

Scarecrow

  1. Rain On The Scarecrow
  2. Grandma’s Theme
  3. Small Town
  4. Minutes To Memories
  5. Lonely Ol’ Night
  6. The Face Of The Nation
  7. Justice And Independence ‘85
  8. Between A Laugh And A Tear
  9. Rumbleseat
  10. You’ve Got To Stand For Somethin’
  11. R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (A Salute To 60’s Rock)
  12. The Kind Of Fella I Am
  13. Small Town (acoustic version) (Bonus Track)

The Lonesome Jubilee

  1. Paper In Fire
  2. Down And Out In Paradise
  3. Check It Out
  4. The Real Life
  5. Cherry Bomb
  6. We Are The People
  7. Empty Hands
  8. Hard Times For An Honest Man
  9. Hotdogs And Hamburgers
  10. Rooty Toot Toot
  11. Blues From The Front Porch (Bonus Track)

Big Daddy

  1. Big Daddy Of Them All
  2. To Live
  3. Martha Say
  4. Theo And Weird Henry
  5. Jackie Brown
  6. Pop Singer
  7. Void In My Heart
  8. Mansions In Heaven
  9. Sometimes A Great Notion
  10. Country Gentleman
  11. J.M.’s Question
  12. Let It All Hang Out
  13. Jackie Brown (acoustic version) (Bonus Track)

Whenever We Wanted

  1. Love And Happiness
  2. Now More Than Ever
  3. I Ain’t Ever Satisfied
  4. Get A Leg Up
  5. Crazy Ones
  6. Last Chance
  7. They’re So Tough
  8. Melting Pot
  9. Whenever We Wanted
  10. Again Tonight
  11. Love And Happiness (London Club Mix) (Bonus Track)

Falling From Grace-Original Soundtrack Album

  1. Bud’s Theme (instrumental) – Lisa Germano
  2. Cradle Of The Interstate – Nanci Griffith
  3. Whiskey Burnin’ – Larry Crane
  4. Common Day Man – Dwight Yoakam
  5. It Don’t Scare Me None – John Mellencamp
  6. Searchin’ For The Perfect Girl – Pure Jam
  7. All The Best – John Prine
  8. Hold Me Like You Used To Do – Qkumbrz
  9. Sweet Suzanne – Buzzin’ Cousins
  10. Nothing’s For Free – John Mellencamp
  11. Little Children (instrumental) – Lisa Germano
  12. Days Like These – Janis Ian
  13. Falling From Grace – Larry Rollins

Human Wheels

  1. When Jesus Left Birmingham
  2. Junior
  3. Human Wheels
  4. Beige To Beige
  5. Case 795 (The Family)
  6. Suzanne And The Jewels
  7. Sweet Evening Breeze
  8. What If I Came Knocking
  9. French Shoes
  10. To The River
  11. When Jesus Left Birmingham (Bonus Track)

Dance Naked

  1. Dance Naked
  2. Brothers
  3. When Margaret Comes To Town
  4. Wild Night
  5. L.U.V.
  6. Another Sunny Day 12/25
  7. Too Much To Think About
  8. The Big Jack
  9. The Break Out
  10. Wild Night (acoustic version) (Bonus Track)

Mr. Happy Go Lucky

  1. Overture
  2. Jerry
  3. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)
  4. Just Anther Day
  5. This May Not Be The End Of The World
  6. Emotional Love
  7. Mr. Bellows
  8. The Full Catastrophe
  9. Circling Around The Moon
  10. Large World Turning
  11. Jackamo Road
  12. Life Is Hard
  13. What If I Came Knocking? (Bonus Track)

John Mellencamp

  1. Fruit Trader
  2. Your Life Is Now
  3. Positively Crazy
  4. I’m Not Running Anymore
  5. It All Comes True
  6. Eden Is Burning
  7. Where The World Began
  8. Miss Missy
  9. Chance Meeting At The Tarantula
  10. Break Me Off Some
  11. Summer Of Love
  12. Days Of Farewell

Rough Harvest

  1. Love And Happiness
  2. In My Time Of Dying
  3. Between A Laugh And A Tear
  4. Human Wheels
  5. Rain On The Scarecrow
  6. Farewell Angelina
  7. Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)
  8. Jackie Brown
  9. When Jesus Left Birmingham
  10. The Full Catastrophe
  11. Minutes To Memories
  12. Under The Boardwalk
  13. Wild Night (live)
  14. Seventh Son (Bonus Track)

Cuttin’ Heads

  1. Cuttin’ Heads
  2. Peaceful World
  3. Deep Blue Heart
  4. Crazy Island
  5. Just Like You
  6. The Same Way I Do
  7. Women Seem
  8. Worn Out Nervous Condition
  9. Shy
  10. In Our Lives

Trouble No More

  1. Stones In My Passway
  2. Death Letter
  3. Johnny Hart
  4. Baltimore Oriole
  5. Teardrops Will Fall
  6. Diamond Joe
  7. The End Of The World
  8. Down In The Bottom
  9. Lafayette
  10. Joliet Bound
  11. John The Revelator
  12. To Washington

Freedom’s Road

  1. Someday
  2. Ghost Towns Along The Highway
  3. The Americans
  4. Forgiveness
  5. Freedom’s Road
  6. Jim Crow
  7. Our Country
  8. Rural Route
  9. My Aeroplane
  10. Heaven Is A Lonely Place

Life, Death, Love and Freedom

  1. Longest Days
  2. My Sweet Love
  3. If I Die Sudden
  4. Troubled Land
  5. Young Without Lovers
  6. John Cockers
  7. Don’t Need This Body
  8. A Ride Back Home
  9. Without A Shot
  10. Jena
  11. Mean
  12. County Fair
  13. For The Children
  14. A Brand New Song

No Better Than This

  1. Save Some Time To Dream
  2. The West End
  3. Right Behind Me
  4. A Graceful Fall
  5. No Better Than This
  6. Thinking About You
  7. Coming Down The Road
  8. No One Cares About Me
  9. Love At First Sight
  10. Don’t Forget About Me
  11. Each Day Of Sorrow
  12. Easter Eve
  13. Clumsy Ol’ World