As we've mentioned before, with the music industry alarmed over the prospect of lost revenue from illegal downloading (through Napster, Kazaa, and other file-sharing programs), not to mention the extraordinary ease of burning copies of CDs, we are now seeing more and more CD/DVD hybrid releases, some offering more significant visual content than others. Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits combines a double-CD compilation of 37 songs with a 21-minute five-clip DVD featuring the socially conscious folk rocker whose career has spanned a quarter century (Mellencamp even bounced back from a major heart attack in 1994). Four of the five tunes are music videos--"Crumblin' Down" (plain old vanilla '80s music video), "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." (nicely mounted visual homage to the '60s), "Rain on the Scarecrow" (a Mellencamp-directed plea for the American farmer that coincided with the artist's partnership with Willie Nelson and Neil Young in creating Farm Aid), and "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First) (a typical post-Se7en quick-cut montage of diverse couples, featuring a cameo by Matthew McConaughey)--coupled with a live version of "Check It Out." Make no mistake, the real reason to pick this up is the generous collection of every one of Mellencamp's hits on the two CDs (including "Pink Houses," "Jack & Diane," "I Need a Lover," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Paper in Fire," "Small Town," "Hurts So Good," and the five cuts from the DVD, among others), as well as a handful of lesser tunes, and two brand new songs (one of which, "Walk Tall," easily qualifies as a hit). Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)
Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits
(2004) 21 min. DVD: $19.98 (2 CDs included). Universal Music (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 20, Issue 1
Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits
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