Grandview and All Night Talk Radio

Just wanted to share some interesting revelations from the fantastic Sad Clowns and Hillbillies album.

I'm seeing the question pop up quite a bit regarding the Grandview recording. The following is from the Indystar...

Something old: “Grandview,” the current single from the album that arrives in stores today, is a sonic time traveler Mellencamp co-wrote with his cousin, Bobby Clark, in the 1990s. An early stab at recording the song featured Indiana native and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Stan Lynch, formerly of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Mellencamp said the "Sad Clowns" version of "Grandview" includes some vocals he recorded in the '90s and some recorded this century. Stradlin's gritty, insistent riffs and Lynch's beats were salvaged for the final version, and country vocalist Martina McBride came on board to portray Mellencamp's foil in the song's home stretch. "It took a long time to build this song," Mellencamp said.

Here's something else interesting. When I heard the song All Night Radio it also sounded to me like an older recording, like maybe something left off the Mr Happy Go Lucky album. It even reminds me of Circling Around the Moon. So today I'm looking at the Wikipedia page for Sad Clowns and Hillbillies and noticed that Toby Meyers and Kenny Arnoff are credited for electric bass and drums on All Talk Night Radio! How cool is that... sounds like we might actually have a Mr Happy Go Lucky outtake on this album. This is pure speculation but plausible. It's definitely one of my favorites for the album.

Also Christie Brinkley is credited for background vocals on My Souls Got Wings and What Kind of Man Am I.