Dance Naked

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Dance Naked
Studio album by John Mellencamp
Released	June 21, 1994
Recorded	1994
Genre	Rock
Length	29:07
Label	Mercury
Producer	John Mellencamp, Mike Wanchic
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau link Rolling Stone (favorable) link
John Mellencamp chronology
Human Wheels (1993) Dance Naked (1994) Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996)

Dance Naked is the 13th album by John Mellencamp released in 1994. The album was released in response to the record company's accusations that Mellencamp's previous album, Human Wheels, didn't "fit the format." Mellencamp was irritated with this remark, feeling that none of his albums ever fit the format. As a result, he wrote several purposely radio-friendly songs and recorded them within the span of 14 days at the Belmont Mall Studio in Indiana, intending to show the lack of effort required to produce the type of album they were asking for.

Although Mellencamp claims that Dance Naked was merely an easy output to give the company what it wanted, the album was still well received. The most notable accomplishment was the largely successful single "Wild Night", a cover of the 1971 song by Van Morrison. The song featured Me'shell Ndegeocello on a duet with Mellencamp as well as the prominent bass lead. The single reached #3 on the Billboard Top 100 and charted at #1 on the Adult Contemporary List for 8 weeks. The album itself reached #13 on the Billboard 200 and produced several music videos: two versions for "Wild Night", another for the title track "Dance Naked", and two un-released videos for "L.U.V." and "Another Sunny Day 12/25".

Dance Naked was re-mastered and re-released on July 19, 2005, along with three other Mellencamp albums. The re-mastered edition includes an acoustic version of "Wild Night" as a bonus track.

Track listing

All songs written by John Mellencamp, except where noted.

1. "Dance Naked" – 3:00
2. "Brothers" – 3:14
3. "When Margaret Comes To Town" – 3:20
4. "Wild Night" (Van Morrison)– 3:27
5. "L.U.V." – 3:01
6. "Another Sunny Day 12/25" (Mellencamp/Green) – 3:02
7. "Too Much To Think About" – 3:02
8. "The Big Jack" (Mellencamp/Green) – 3:23
9. "The Breakout" (Mellencamp/Green) – 3:37
10. "Wild Night" (2005 re-issue bonus track) - 3:19

Personnel

• John Mellencamp - vocal, guitar
• Kenny Aronoff - drums, percussion
• Toby Myers - bass
• Mike Wanchic - guitars, organ, backing vocals
• Andy York - guitars, organ, bass, percussion

With

• Mike "Spud" Dupke - drums and percussion on "L.U.V."
• Lisa Germano - backing vocals on "L.U.V."
• Missy - backing vocals on "Dance Naked"
• Me'shell Ndegeocello - bass and vocals on "Wild Night" and "The Big Jack"
• Pat Peterson - backing vocals on "L.U.V."
• Jimmy Ryser - acoustic guitar on "L.U.V."

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)^[1]

Singles - Billboard (North America)^[2]

1. ^ Billboard.com - Discography - John Mellencamp - Dance Naked
2. ^ Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - John Mellencamp