Personnel: John Mellencamp (vocals, guitar); David Grissom (guitar, mandolin, bass); Mike Wanchic (guitar, dobro, dulcimer, background vocals); Malcolm Burn (guitar, harmonica, organ, synthesizer); Toby Myers (guitar, keyboards, bass, background vocals); John Cascella (penny whistle, accordion, organ, melodica, background vocals); Pat Peterson (accordion, maracas, background vocals); Kenny Aronoff (drums, percussion).
Producers: John Mellencamp, Malcolm Burn, David Leonard, Michael Wanchic.
Recorded at Bellmont Mall, Belmont, Indiana.
Personnel: David Grissom (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin); Malcolm Burn (guitar, harmonica, organ, synthesizer); Toby Myers (guitar, keyboards); Mike Wanchic (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, dulcimer, background vocals); Lisa Germano (mandolin, zither, violin, pennywhistle, background vocals); John Cascella (pennywhistle, accordion, melodica, organ, background vocals); Pat Peterson (accordion, maracas, background vocals); Kenny Aronoff (drums, congas, bongos, claves, djembe, guiro, maracas, rainsticks, shaker, tambourine).
Audio Mixers: David Leonard ; John Mellencamp; Malcolm Burn; Mike Wanchic.
Recording information: Belmont Mall Studio, Belmont, IN.
Photographers: Joshua Nefsky; Larry Fink.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Rick Fettig; Kenny Aronoff .
Arranger: John Mellencamp.
On his previous albums, John Mellencamp always infused his heartland rock with a hopefulness and party spirit that kept his paeans to the trials of the working man from becoming bleak. Not so here--if those discs were gritty rock & roll efforts, then HUMAN WHEELS is the artist's dark, confessional singer/songwriter record. Here swaggering, power-chord-driven bombast and anthemic choruses are often replaced by gently strummed mandolin, organ swells, and whispered, elegant verse. There are also hints of things to come--"Junior" and "French Shoes" are driven by dance rhythms that foreshadow the electronic beats of MR. HAPPY GO LUCKY. "What If I Came Knocking," on the other hand, is all thrashing Crazy Horse-style guitars and scary imagery. An album that is by turns disconcerting and deeply moving, HUMAN WHEELS finds John Mellencamp still rocking, but in a subdued and intensely personal manner.