Mr. Happy Go Lucky
| Mr. Happy Go Lucky | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by John Mellencamp | ||||
| Released | September 10, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | January 1995–June 1996 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 47:34 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | John Mellencamp, Mike Wanchic, Junior Vasquez | |||
| John Mellencamp chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− |
| No Depression | (?) |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Mr. Happy Go Lucky is an album released by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp on September 10, 1996. It was his first album released after his heart attack in 1994. Mellencamp's music on the album is said to reflect his brush with death. This album was recorded in Belmont, Indiana, in Mellencamp's Belmont Mall recording studio. The first single from the album, "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)," peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is his last Top 40 single in the United States to date. "Just Another Day" was the album's second single and stalled at #46 on the Billboard Hot 100.
AllMusic gave the album a mixed review, claiming: "John Mellencamp responded to his massive heart attack and close-call with death with 'Mr. Happy Go Lucky,' the most overtly ambitious album in his career." Entertainment Weekly also gave a mixed review, proclaiming: "Mr. Happy Go Lucky is, disappointingly, not the groundbreaker it promised to be."
However, the album also garnered numerous positive reviews, including a four-star review from Rolling Stone, which stated: "There's nothing here with the bull's-eye appeal of 1982's 'Hurts So Good,' no adolescent anthems like Mellencamp's No. 1 single 'Jack and Diane.' Now in his mid-40s, Mellencamp has turned his back on calculated Top 40 gestures in favor of mature theatrics and a thick sonic gumbo. A little uneven but unrepentant, Mr. Happy Go Lucky is a mixed bag in the best sense: rife with ghosts, a healthy fear and a cocky embrace of middle age."
All songs written by John Mellencamp, except where noted.
After being released into stores nationwide, retail giant Wal-Mart found the depiction of the Devil and Jesus on the cover to be offensive, additionally stating that it looked as if the baby in the photo was dead. Mellencamp responded the baby was his son, Hud, who was only sleeping; however, he was not upset at the cover being changed since he did not design or decide on it, and since the music was not required to be changed. In newer versions of the cover art the Devil and Jesus have been removed.
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Wikipedia