Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers (Expanded Version)

Album review

Before the world even had a chance to hear the Modern Lovers, Jonathan Richman had already moved on. Richman founded the group in 1970 with bandmates who would go on to acts like the Cars and the Talking Heads, and in the early '70s, they recorded some truly electric demos that would help define a sound later understood as punk. These recordings wouldn't see wide-scale release until long after the first iteration of the band broke up, and by the time of Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, Richman had dropped the angst and anxiety of his proto-punk beginnings in favor of a far friendlier, quieter, and more innocent style. Ironically, the 1976 debut album of Richman's revamped, gentler Modern Lovers arrived just one month before the proper release of the earlier version of the band's recordings, emphasizing how drastic of a change had occurred. While the raw excitement of the early pre-punk Modern Lovers was groundbreaking, there's an equally revelatory quality in the softness and vulnerability of what followed.
JR&tML finds Richman and his band beside themselves with joy as they create a sound that's part early rock & roll (a cover of Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." is the second track), part children's music, and part thoughtful introspection. Upright bass, spare percussion, and minimal amplification make up most of the arrangements as Richman shouts cues to the band mid-song, adding to the album's live, off-the-cuff charm. His creaky singing doesn't exactly fit in the mold of '50s rocker that he's aiming for on tracks like "Hi Dear," "Rockin' Shopping Center," and "Here Come the Martian Martians," but then again, the songs are a lot weirder than standard oldies radio fare. Even with the predictable rockabilly basslines and chord changes borrowed from doo-wop tunes, it's hard to find an exact precursor for songs like "Abominable Snowman in the Market," which Richman sings with an enthusiastic sincerity usually found on much less ridiculous songs.
The album's lightheartedness is easily apparent in the silly lyrics about insects and the baby-talk backup vocals, but Richman's ability to keep that lightness in moments of deeper emotional expression is what takes the album from mere fun into magnificence. There's a coyness in how he directly asks for validation in a relationship with "Important in Your Life," but delivers the sentiment with singsong melodies and naïve-sounding harmony vocals. Whether expressing heartfelt pride for where he's from on "New England," basking in the simple wonder of nature on "Springtime," or reverently taking in his surroundings during a nighttime walk on the wistful "Lonely Financial Zone," Richman is fearlessly openhearted. The sharp turn from the bleak cool of earlier Modern Lovers to the childlike sweetness of JR&tML is a marked one, but both are part of Richman's gift for translating the essence of his feelings into song. On these 11 songs, those feelings are unabashed happiness and appreciation, and it's enough to make the album feel like a timeless breath of fresh air.

© Fred Thomas /TiVo