John Cougar and the American listening public became inseparable after this landmark album arrived in 1982. While AMERICAN FOOL wasn't John Cougar's first full-length recording, it was the one wherein he gained commercial and artistic footing, and established a formula that would become his trademark style--simple roots-rock melodies with stirring choruses, unguardedly emotional vocals, and lyrics that reflect the experiences of the common man.

Album opener "Hurts So Good" is a playful rocker (with a dangerously catchy refrain) that has become part of the pop canon, and "Jack & Diane" is one of the great slice-of-life songs of the '80s. While both songs loom large, other overlooked treasures include "China Girl," with its cheeky faux-Chinese guitar riff, and the ballad "Weakest Moments," which blends transcendent acoustic-guitar changes with a gorgeous, careworn melody. Here and elsewhere on this well-written record, Cougar proves he's nobody's fool.

1 Hurts So Good (Side A)
2 Jack & Diane (Side A)
3 Hand to Hold on to (Side A)
4 Danger List (Side A)
5 Can You Take It (Side A)
6 Thundering Hearts (Side B)
7 China Girl (Side B)
8 Close Enough (Side B)
9 Weakest Moments (Side B)