The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 - Composition

music.wikisort.org - Composition

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". Mellencamp picked the songs for the album and also came up with the title for the album.[3] The album reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200.[4] This album and Rough Harvest came about because, after leaving Mercury Records for Columbia Records, Mellencamp still owed the label two more albums.[5]

The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988

Greatest hits album by

John Mellencamp

Released

November 18, 1997[1]

Recorded

1978–1997

Studio

Various

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, heartland 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
(1996)

The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988
(1997)

John Mellencamp
(1998)

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	B[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic.com said that the album's title was suitable and while it did not include all of Mellencamp's hits, it is a good summary of Mellencamp's "remarkably consistent" work.[1] Robert Christgau described it as the best of John Mellencamp, which to him is not saying much.[6] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B" rating, describing it as "uncomplicated but sophisticated."[7]

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written 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

Japanese edition

The version released in Japan features two additional songs ("Miami" and a cover of "Under the Boardwalk," tracks 2 and 15, respectively), and places "Lonely Ol' Night" before "Authority Song".

No.	Title	Original release	Length
1.	"I Need a Lover"	A Biography	5:38
2.	"Miami"	John Cougar	3:53
3.	"Ain't Even Done with the Night"	Nothin' Matters and What If It Did	4:37
4.	"Hurts So Good" (Mellencamp, George Green)	American Fool	3:39
5.	"Jack and Diane"	American Fool	4:16
6.	"Crumblin' Down" (Mellencamp, Green)	Uh-Huh	3:36
7.	"Pink Houses"	Uh-Huh	4:45
8.	"Lonely Ol' Night"	Scarecrow	3:46
9.	"Authority Song"	Uh-Huh	3:50
10.	"Small Town"	Scarecrow	3:41
11.	"R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."	Scarecrow	2:55
12.	"Paper in Fire"	The Lonesome Jubilee	3:53
13.	"Cherry Bomb"	The Lonesome Jubilee	4:49
14.	"Check It Out"	The Lonesome Jubilee	4:20
15.	"Under the Boardwalk" (Resnick, Kenny Young)	"R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." B-Side	3:57
16.	"Without Expression" (Terry Reid)	Previously unreleased	5:06

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[2]

John Mellencamp (a.k.a. "Little Bastard" on some tracks) – vocals, guitar, songwriter, producer
Larry Crane – guitars, harmonica, background vocals, flutophone
Tom Knowles – drums on "I Need a Lover"
Robert "Ferd" Frank – bass, background vocals on "I Need a Lover"
Brian Bekvar – keyboards on "I Need a Lover"
John Punter – producer, engineer on "I Need a Lover"
Rick Shlosser – drums on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
Mike Wanchic – guitars, background vocals; producer on "Without Expression"
Kenny Aronoff – vibes on "Ain't Even Done with the Night", drums, background vocals, hammer dulcimer
Eric Rosser – keyboards
Steve Cropper – producer on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
Bruce Robb – engineer on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
Dee Robb – engineer on "Ain't Even Done with the Night"
George "Chocolate" Perry – bass on "Hurts So Good"
Dave Parman – background vocals on "Hurts So Good"
Don Gehman – producer/engineer on "Hurts So Good" thru "Check It Out"
George Tutko – engineer on "Hurts So Good"
Mick Ronson – guitar and background vocals on "Jack and Diane"
Toby Myers – bass, background vocals
Carroll Sue Hill – keyboards, background vocals
Greg Edward – engineer
David Thoener – engineer on "Pink Houses"
Sarah Flint – background vocals on "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."
John Cascella – keyboards, accordion
Lisa Germano – violin
Pat Peterson – background vocals
Crystal Taliefero – background vocals
Dane Clark – drums on "Without Expression"
Miriam Sturm – violin on "Without Expression"
Andy York – guitars, background vocals on "Without Expression"
Moe Z – keyboards, background vocals on "Without Expression"
Corsillo/Manzobe-Design Monsters – art direction
Paul Jasmin – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1997–1998)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8]	5
Canada Albums (RPM)[9]	9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10]	19
Scottish Albums (OCC)[11]	33
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	25
US Billboard 200[13]	33

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14]	52
Chart (1998)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15]	58

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – US[16]	Gold	December 15, 1997
ARIA – Australia[17]	Platinum	1997
RIAA – US[16]	Platinum	July 20, 1998
ARIA – Australia[18]	2x Multi-Platinum	1998
RIAA – US[16]	3× Platinum	March 19, 2002

References

Stephen Thomas Erlewine (2010). "The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 – John Mellencamp". Allmusic Guide. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (CD Liner). John Mellencamp. US: Mercury Records. 1997. pp. 9–11. 314 536 738-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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". The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (CD liner). John Mellencamp. U.S.A.: Mercury Records. p. 8. 314 536 738-2.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-mellencamp-p105068/charts-awards/billboard-albums
"John Mellencamp: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
"CG: John Mellencamp". Robert Christgau. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
Wook Kim (December 12, 1997). "The Best That I Could Do (1978–1988) Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
"Australiancharts.com – John Mellencamp – The Best That I Could Do (1978-1988)". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
"Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada".
"Charts.nz – John Mellencamp – The Best That I Could Do (1978-1988)". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
"John Mellencamp Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
"ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1997". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
"ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH Type in "Mellencamp" under Artist.
"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Aria.com.au. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Albums". Aria.com.au. Retrieved January 9, 2012.

v t e John Mellencamp
Studio albums	Chestnut Street Incident (1976) A Biography (1978) John Cougar (1979) Nothin' Matters and What If It Did (1980) American Fool (1982) The Kid Inside (1983) 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) Plain Spoken (2014) Sad Clowns & Hillbillies (2017) Strictly a One-Eyed Jack (2022)
Live albums	Life, Death, Live and Freedom (2009) Performs Trouble No More Live at Town Hall (2014) Plain Spoken: From the Chicago Theatre (2018)
Compilations	The Best That I Could Do 1978–1988 (1997) Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits (2004) On the Rural Route 7609 (2010) Other People's Stuff (2018)
Notable singles	"I Need a Lover" "This Time" "Ain't Even Done with the Night" "Hurts So Good" "Jack & Diane" "Crumblin' Down" "Pink Houses" "Lonely Ol' Night" "Small Town" "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." "Paper in Fire" "Cherry Bomb" "Check It Out" "Pop Singer" "Wild Night" "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" "Just Another Day" "Peaceful World" "Walk Tall" "Our Country" "My Sweet Love"
Other singles	"What Say You" (with Travis Tritt)
Related	Discography Farm Aid Falling from Grace (1992) Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2012) Elaine Irwin Meg Ryan

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