Scarecrow (John Mellencamp album)
| Scarecrow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 31, 1985 | |||
| Studio | Belmont Mall Studio (Belmont, Indiana) | |||
| Genre | Heartland rock | |||
| Length | 41:07 | |||
| Label | Riva | |||
| Producer | ||||
| John Cougar Mellencamp chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Scarecrow | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Kerrang! | |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10 |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Scarecrow is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter John Cougar Mellencamp. Released on July 31, 1985, it peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200. The album contained three top-ten hits: "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.", which peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100; "Lonely Ol' Night", which peaked at number six; and "Small Town", which also peaked at number six. "Lonely Ol' Night" also peaked at number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, his second chart-topping single on this chart.
In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Scarecrow finished at No. 3. In 1989, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Scarecrow number 95 on its list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s, saying: "Scarecrow consolidated the band's rugged, roots-rock thrash and the ongoing maturation of Mellencamp's lyrics."
A remastered version was released May 24, 2005, on Mercury/Island/UMe and includes one bonus track. On November 4, 2022, a "deluxe" two-CD remastered and remixed version of the album was released.