Back In Your Life (Bonus Track Edition)

Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

Released on 1/1/79 by Castle Communications
Main artists: Jonathan Richman
Genre: Rock

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The third album from Jonathan Richman's second, more whimsical iteration of the Modern Lovers bore some similarities to the two that preceded it, but like everything Richman touches, it had interesting and puzzling idiosyncrasies of its own. A fondness for bygone musical eras shows up in the form of a doo wop send-up "(She's Gonna) Respect Me," in covers of sock hop and beach party tunes, and in originals directly informed by the earliest days of rock & roll. These moments of Happy Days-style nostalgia are curiously interspersed with original songs that go in decidedly different directions. Awkwardly nestled between a surf instrumental and a cover of the Hollywood Flames' 1957 early rhythm & blues tune "Buzz Buzz Buzz" is the brooding "Affection," an angsty and downtempo lament over a loveless world that feels like a slightly less dire update to Richman's earlier song "Hospital." Though sung over a happy major-key chord progression, the campfire-ready title track is deceptively sad, with Jonathan playing the role of the abandoned lover begging for another chance. Back in Your Life is a somewhat scattered affair, moving abruptly through its moods and styles. Despite its occasionally jumbled flow, the album includes some of the more re-playable songs from this era of Richman's evolution. Album-opener "Abdul and Cleopatra" is catchy, intoxicating, and just silly enough not to be overbearing for listeners who might be turned off by the more saccharine emotional nakedness of "My Love Is a Flower (Just Beginning to Bloom)" or the cartoon voices of "I'm Nature's Mosquito." Similarly, "Party in the Woods Tonight" is ridiculous, and in the hands of another artist it might be embarrassing or annoying, but Richman owns it to the point where even those initially put off by its frivolity might find themselves smiling and swaying along by the end. Back in Your Life is sometimes weird, sometimes fun, and feels unseemly and confusing as often as it touches on unvarnished emotional purity. In other words, it's a Jonathan Richman album.

© Fred Thomas /TiVo

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Back In Your Life (Bonus Track Edition)

Jonathan Richman

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Abdul and Cleopatra

00:03:17

Jonathan Richman, Composer, Writer - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, Performance, MainArtist

(She's Gonna) Respect Me

00:02:49