John Cougar's first albums were so bereaved of strong material that the lean swagger of American Fool came as a shock.
The difference is evident from the opening song, "Hurts So Good," a hard, Stonesy rocker with an irresistibly sleazy hook.
Cougar never wrote anything as catchy as this before, nor had his romantic vision of small-town America resonated like it did on "Jack & Diane," a minor and remarkably affecting sketch of dead-end romance.
These two songs are the only true keepers on American Fool, but the rest of the record works better than his previous material because his band is tighter than ever before, making his weaker moments convincing.
Besides, songs like "Hand to Hold On To" and "China Girl," for all their faults, do indicate that his sense of craft is improving considerably.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hurts So Good | John Mellencamp | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 2 | Jack & Diane | John Mellencamp | Play | 04:16 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Hand to Hold On To | John Mellencamp | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 4 | Danger List | John Mellencamp | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Can You Take It | John Mellencamp | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | Thundering Hearts | John Mellencamp | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | China Girl | John Mellencamp | Play | 03:34 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 8 | Close Enough | John Mellencamp | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Weakest Moments | John Mellencamp | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 34 mins | 78 MB | |||||
| 34 mins | 212 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Mellencamp | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |