My 50 Favorite Albums (continued)

If there's one musician who I'd love to be friends with, its Jonathan Richman.

He started out as a punk rocker following in the footsteps of Lou Reed and the Velvets.  He then merged into a singer songwriter  singing cute ditties about Ice Cream Men and Vincent Van Gogh.

And his most recent 15 minutes of fame came as himself in There's Something About Mary.

And he hasn't really put out anything interesting in years.

None of this matters to me.  Every time I listen to Jonathan's music, I get a big smile on my face. His music is happy music.

Jonathan's music has to be in my Top 50, no question about it.  But what record to include?  That's not any easy choice.

There are three distinct phases of Jonathan's music:

The punk phase where he played with a band called The Modern Lovers.  The seminal record from this period is the The Modern Lovers.

The next period is where he went solo and became a singer songwriter.  The seminal record from this period is Rock N Roll With.  That said, all the records from this period are fantastic.

The final interesting period for me is the early/mid 80s where he went even more cutsie and his material became more uneven.  There is one absolutely classic record from this period that The Gotham Gal and I love and that is Rockin and Romance.   This record is out of print, but the link is to Twin Tone's web site where you can buy a CD with the 1985 production master.  If you like Jonathan's music and don't have this record, go get the master.

Another problem is so much of Jonathan's music has been released in different compilations both here in the US and in Europe.  So there are great compilations, bootlegs, and live records that could easily make the Top 50.

But when its all said and done, I have to go with the original Modern Lovers record. 

With songs like Roadrunner, Girlfren, Pablo Picasso, Astral Plane, and lots more, this is a classic record by a one of kind master of modern music.

Welcome to the top 50 Jojo!

Comments

[Chris Robison]

If anyone here gets a chance to see him live, GO DO IT. Heck, travel to see him. I've seen Jonathan about 6 times, the last here in NYC. Absolutely amazing show, great songwriter, energy, spirit. He still tours on a Greyhound bus with his guitar many times.

The first several times I saw him was in Lawrence, Kansas while in college. After one show he came over to a friend's house, we made red beans and rice, and he played/read "1963" for us way before it came out. Great guy who never seemed to get too caught up in it all. I always got the sense that he just wants to write and play his songs.

[jackson]

You're on a roll. I'm glad you picked the Modern Lovers record, and so is Hippy Johnny, but he's always stoned....I'm straight!

[Bill A]

You've picked my favorite Jonathan Richman CD. He's truly underappreciated, even after the help from the Farrelly brothers.

He does a 4 or 5 night stand here in Austin every year, and every show is different from the rest. You can't miss by seeing him live.

[jim spot thompson hat pobox spot com]

Thanks for the tip on where to pick up a copy of "Rockin' and Romance". I played the heck out of this disc when I was a DJ at my college radio station, and every now and then I hunt around for a copy... in vain until now. I just can't wait to hear "Walter Johnson," "Down In Bermuda" and the others again. Now if only I could find a digital copy of "Buckingham Nicks".

[David Parmet]

What a great album that is.. and Roadrunner is one of the top five or ten great rock and roll songs of all time. I never get tired of it.