Whenever We Wanted

Whenever We Wanted
Studio album by John Mellencamp
Released	October 8, 1991
Recorded	April–June 1991
Genre	Rock
Length	38:45
Label	Mercury
Producer	John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp chronology
Big Daddy (1989) Whenever We Wanted (1991) Human Wheels (1993)
Singles from Whenever We Wanted
"Get a Leg Up" Released: October 1991 "Love And Happiness" Released: November 1991 "Again Tonight" Released: January 1992 "Now More Than Ever" Released: April 1992 "Last Chance" Released: July 1992

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
Entertainment Weekly	B[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]
Rolling Stone	link

Whenever We Wanted is American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp's 11th album, and the first to be credited simply to Mellencamp's given name (i.e., without "Cougar" in the name).

The album reached the top 20 and went platinum.^[3] It includes the hits "Get A Leg Up" (#1 for three weeks on the Album Rock Tracks chart), "Now More Than Ever" (#3 on the Album Rock Tracks chart), "Last Chance" (#12 on the Album Rock Tracks chart), and "Again Tonight" (#1 for two weeks on the Album Rock Tracks chart). "Get A Leg Up" (#14) and "Again Tonight" (#36) also cracked the Billboard Hot 100.

Entertainment Weekly gave the album a positive review, stating: "To Mellencamp's credit, even though 'Whenever We Wanted' delivers his signature rock & roll punch, he doesn't try to. That Mellencamp still has the courage to make depressing assessments in a pop context is a victory that outweighs the record's other shortcomings."

Mellencamp later said the album was an attempt to "write American Fool with better lyrics" after a fan mentioned the previous two albums "had nothing about sex on them." This inspired him to write less about problems in the heartland and "get back to the basics."^[3]