Yesterday, I bought John Mellencamp's third album, A Biography (1978) which was never released in the U.S. until Island/Def Jam began its Mellencamp reissue campaign earlier this year. This particular album goes back so far that Mellencamp is actually credited as "Johnny Cougar" (the last album that features said name). It's also the first appearance of Mellencamp's first hit, "I Need A Lover."

I was expecting the album to be terrible. I bought it because 1.) I'm a completist, and 2.) it was only $10. But once I popped it in the player, I was pleasantly surprised. The album isn't bad! Sure, it has its cheesy moments, (don't listen to "High C Cherrie" unless you want a good laugh) but nowhere near the embarassing heights of The Chestnut Street Incident (1976) and The Kid Inside (1977). Much to my surprise, this is an album I'll be listening to again.

You can tell by listening that this is a guy trying to perfect his craft. Little did anybody know, he was just four years from his breakthrough album.