john mellencamp / albums

3,608,724 plays
1,068 SHARES
2,507 FAVS
107 fans

The Best That I Could Do: 1978-1988,John Mellencamp

- The Best That I Could Do: 1978-1988
- - 1,140,904 plays
  - 785 favs
  - 421 shares
John Mellencamp
Released 1997

Small Town
03:40
78,911 plays

Authority Song
03:49
78,240 plays

Cherry Bomb
04:49
75,478 plays

- Add to cart
- buy
- share

songs

- 1
- I Need A Lover
- 05:37
- 61,664 plays

- 2
- Ain't Even Done With The Night
- 04:38
- 64,778 plays

- 3
- Hurts So Good
- 03:39
- 104,247 plays

- 4
- Jack & Diane
- 04:15
- 126,668 plays

- 5
- Crumblin' Down
- 03:35
- 54,602 plays

- 6
- Pink Houses
- 04:44
- 117,890 plays

- 7
- Authority Song
- 03:49
- 78,240 plays

- 8
- Lonely Ol' Night
- 03:45
- 41,317 plays

- 9
- Small Town
- 03:40
- 78,911 plays

- 10
- R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. (A Salute To 60's Rock)
- 02:55
- 62,227 plays

- 11
- Paper In Fire
- 03:51
- 42,211 plays

- 12
- Cherry Bomb
- 04:49
- 75,478 plays

- 13
- Check It Out
- 04:20
- 43,995 plays

- 14
- Without Expression
- 05:05
- 24,354 plays

- play all

album review

The Best That I Could Do is an appropriately self-deprecating title for John Mellencamp's greatest-hits collection, considering that the heartland rocker never seemed too convinced of his own worth. Of course, he had to struggle to get any respect after he was saddled with the stage name Johnny Cougar early in his career, but this 14-track collection proves that he was one of the best, unabashed straight-ahead rockers of the '80s. The 14 tracks here actually turn out to be a little too short to contain all of his great singles -- songs like "Rain on the Scarecrow," "Rumbleseat," "Pop Singer," "Again Tonight," and "What If I Came Knocking" are left off the collection (there's nothing from 1988's Big Daddy at all) -- but it's hard to argue with what's here. Over the course of the collection, such classic rock hits as "I Need a Lover," "Hurts So Good," "Jack and Diane," "Crumblin' Down," "Pink Houses," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Small Town," "Paper in Fire," "Cherry Bomb," and "Check It Out" are chronicled, with a new cover of Terry Reid's "Without Expression" added for good measure. It may fall short of being definitive, but only by a small margin, and it remains an excellent overview and introduction to Mellencamp's remarkably consistent body of work. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide