John Mellencamp - Dance Naked (1994)
Tracklist front / back album covers
"Dance Naked" – 3:00
"Brothers" – 3:14
"When Margaret Comes To Town" – 3:20
"Wild Night" (Van Morrison) – 3:27
"L.U.V." – 3:01
"Another Sunny Day 12/25" (Mellencamp, George M. Green) – 3:02
"Too Much To Think About" – 3:02
"The Big Jack" (Mellencamp, Green) – 3:23
"The Breakout" (Mellencamp, Green) – 3:37
"Wild Night" (acoustic) (2005 re-issue bonus track) – 3:19 (feat. Meshell Ndegeocello)
John Mellencamp Band Members / Musicians
John Mellencamp – vocal, guitar
Kenny Aronoff – drums, percussion
Toby Myers – bass
Mike Wanchic – guitars, organ, backing vocals
Andy York – guitars, organ, bass, percussion
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."
Jay Healy - engineer, mixing
Dance Naked is the 13th studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mellencamp released on June 21, 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 his Belmont Mall recording studio in Belmont, 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 record company what they wanted, the album was still well received. Receiving a Platinum certification by the RIAA. 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 No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary List for 8 weeks.
The album itself reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and produced several music videos: two versions for "Wild Night," another for the title track "Dance Naked," and unreleased 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.
Spin named Dance Naked the 20th best album of 1994.
