John Mellencamp has released a rare track called “Smart Guys” from the sessions for his classic 1985 album Scarecrow as an advance track from the upcoming deluxe reissue of the record.
“Smart Guys” is available now via digital formats, while a lyric video for the tune has been posted at Mellencamp’s official YouTube channel. The clip features the same tattoo-covered young woman who appears in the video for “Carolina Shag,” another bonus song from the Scarecrow sessions that was previously released as an advance track from the expanded reissue.
In the “Smart Guys” clip, the woman appears as a school teacher wearing horn-rimmed glasses, as she reads a book, grades papers, spins a globe, and writes the song’s lyrics in marker on a white board.
“Smart Guys” and “Carolina Shag” are two of 11 bonus tracks featured on the deluxe versions of the Scarecrow reissue, which is due out this Friday, November 4. As previously reported, the expanded reissue, which can be preordered now, will boast a remixed and remastered version of the original album, as well as demos, outtakes and rough mixes of tracks.
Scarecrow, Mellencamp’s eighth studio album, was released in August 1985, and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. The album yielded features five top-40 hits — “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. (A Salute to ’60s Rock),” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “Rain on the Scarecrow” and “Rumbleseat.”
Meanwhile, next year, Mellencamp will embark on a 76-date North American trek dubbed the Live and In Person 2023 tour. The outing is scheduled to kick off with a February 5-6 engagement in Bloomington, Indiana, through a June 23-24 stand in South Bend, Indiana.
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