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THE REVIEW
I was watching "There's Something About Mary" the last time I came across the friendly face of Jonathan Richman, called upon to narrate the unlikely adventures of Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz with his acoustic guitar, lyrics that narrate a never banal everyday life, and his nasal voice.
Only downside: in the Italian version of the film, Richman's voice was cleverly dubbed. I imagine that this doesn't happen to Bob Dylan, but let's move on.
Jonathan Richman was the leader maximo of the Modern Lovers and this debut is probably the musical pinnacle, or at least the most genuinely rock & roll album of his over-thirty-year career, for the presence of some proto-punk sounds and many wave anticipations.
The gestation of this album was a nightmare: the demos of some songs were recorded in 1972 by John Cale, while other tracks were laid down with the help of producer Kim Fowley, but the results did not satisfy the perfectionist Richman and were released only in 1976 by Beserkley almost against the singer's will.
The Modern Lovers are the perfect cross between the sparse musical vision of the early Velvet Underground, the sound of the Doors stripped of the rawness of blues, and an "X" component, which we might call personality or, more simply, the ability to write timeless songs.
Richman's rhymes have a lopsided pace, built on few guitar riffs repeated incessantly, but the sound is fleshed out with Doors-like keyboards, some tributes to the origins of rock (in "Someone I Care About" you can even hear handclaps) and our singer's voice wavering between a declamatory or spoken approach.
Serious critics consider the opener "Roadrunner" the compositional apex of this LP, but it's like judging a book by its cover. The love for psychedelia also pervades the following "Astral World", while as you progress through the record, Velvetian ghosts start to appear, as in "I'm Straight", in the more free-form "Pablo Picasso", and in the tribal "Someone I Care About".
Some changes in tone can be noticed in the nervous "Dignified And Old" and "Modern World" not far philologically from the "punk" of Richard Hell & The Voidoids, in the almost singer-songwriter tones of "Girl Friend", and in the carefree "Government Center", a sort of Beach Boys visiting hell.
I have saved the absolute masterpiece of the work for last, that "Hospital" given to the group by keyboardist Jerry Harrison, later with the Talking Heads: a slow play start, Richman's spoken word supported by liquid keyboards, creating the pathos before the cathartic explosion of the chorus, as in the best compositions of Patti Smith.
I recommend this masterpiece to those eager to discover the milestones of rock, to tender-hearted punks, to the less alternative alternatives, and especially to the distracted dubbers of American films.
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Summary by Bot
This review highlights The Modern Lovers' debut album as a pioneering and timeless rock record infused with proto-punk sounds. Jonathan Richman's distinctive voice and songwriting craft create an innovative fusion of influences from Velvet Underground, the Doors, and early punk. The album's troubled production history contrasts with its lasting impact, especially through standout tracks like 'Roadrunner' and 'Hospital'. Recommended for rock pioneers, punk enthusiasts, and those eager to uncover musical milestones.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
01 Roadrunner (04:06)
One two three four five six
Roadrunner, roadrunner
Going faster miles an hour
Gonna drive past the Stop 'n' Shop
With the radio on
I'm in love with Massachusetts
And the neon when it's cold outside
And the highway when it's late at night
Got the radio on
I'm like the roadrunner
Alright
I'm in love with modern moonlight
128 when it's dark outside
I'm in love with Massachusetts
I'm in love with the radio on
It helps me from being alone late at night
It helps me from being lonely late at night
I don't feel so bad now in the car
Don't feel so alone, got the radio on
Like the roadrunner
That's right
Said welcome to the spirit of 1956
Patient in the bushes next to '57
The highway is your girlfriend as you go by quick
Suburban trees, suburban speed
And it smells like heaven(thunder)
And I say roadrunner once
Roadrunner twice
I'm in love with rock & roll and I'll be out all night
Roadrunner
That's right
02 Astral Plane (03:00)
Tonight I'm all alone in my room
I'll go insane if you won't sleep with me
I'll still be with you
I'm gonna meet you on the astral plane
The astral plane for dark at night
The astral plane or I'll go insane
Well I don't see you and it's getting dark
Today we should have gone to a Central Park
Well don't you want to see me ever again?
If not I'll meet you on the astral plane
The astral plane for late at night
The astral plane or I'd go insane
Well we've known each other from other lives
I want to see you today
But I'll prove my knowledge of what's inside
When I intercept you on the astral plane
The astral plane for late at night
The astral plane or I'd go insane
Alright
Well I don't see you and it's getting dark
I'd have a lot to say
But you're not the one that I can say it to
At least not today
Oh, well I don't remember it afterwords
I don't yet know the words!
But I know we've been together just this week
We've been together on the astral plane
The astral plane for late at night
The astral plane or I'd go insane
Well Tonight I'm all alone in my room
I'll go insane if you won't sleep with me
I'll still be with you
I'm gonna meet you on the astral plane
The astral plane for dark at night
The astral plane or I'll go insane
04 Pablo Picasso (04:21)
well,
some people try to pick up girls
and get called an asshole
this never happened to pablo picasso
he could walk down your street
and girls could not resist to stare
and so pablo picasso was never called an asshole
well, the girls would turn the colour of avocado
when he would drive down thier street
in his el dorado
he could walk down your street
and girls could not resist to stare
pablo picasso never got called an asshole
not like you
alright
well he was only 5 foot 3
but girls could not resist to stare
pablo picasso never got called an asshole
not in new york
well,
??????? obnoxious been on bell bottom ??? asshole
remember the story of pablo picasso
he could walk down your street
and girls could not resist to stare
pablo picasso was never called an asshole
well,
some people try to pick up girls
and get called an asshole
this never happened to pablo picasso
he could walk down your street
and girls could not resist to stare
and so pablo picasso was never called...
05 She Cracked (02:55)
Well she was sensitive
She understood me
She understood the European things of 1943
But she does all these things that I can't stand
I get jealous if she stays with another man
She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't
She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right
Well she cracked, I won't
She did things that I don't
She'd self destroy, necessary to self enjoy
I self develop, necessary to self help
She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't that's right
She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right
Well she cracked, I won't
She did things that I don't
She'd eat garbage, eat shit, get stoned
I stay alone, eat health food at home
She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't
She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right
Alright
She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't
She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right
One more time, one more time
She cracked, I'm sad, but I won't
She cracked, I'm hurt, you're right
06 Hospital (05:32)
When you get out of the hospital
Let me back into your life
I can't stand what you do
I'm in love with your eyes
And when you get out of the dating bar
I'll be here to get back into your life
I can't stand what you do
I'm in love with your eyes
I can't stand what you do
Sometimes I can't stand you
It makes me think about me
That I'm involved with you
...But I'm in love with this power that shows through in your eyes
I go to bakeries all day long
There's a lack of sweetness in my life
And there's pain inside
You can see it in my eyes
There is pain inside
You can see it in my eyes
It makes me think about me
That I've lost my pride
...But I'm in love with this power that resides in your eyes
You live in modern apartments
Well I've even got scared once or twice
Last time I walked down your street
There were tears in my eyes
Well now these streets we all know
They help us cry when we're alone late at night
Don't you love them too?
Is that where you got your eyes?
Oh I can't stand what you do
Sometimes I can't stand you
It makes me think about me
How I'm involved with you
...But I'm in love with this power that shows through in your eyes
Your world---it is beautiful
I'll take the subway to your suburb sometimes
I'll seek out the things that must've been magic to you little girl mind
Now as a little girl you must've been magic
I still get jealous of your old boyfriends in the suburbs sometimes
And when I walk down your street
There'll probably be tears in my eyes
(I knew it would happen)
I can't stand what you do
Sometimes I can't stand you
It makes me think about me
That I'm involved with you
...But I'm in love with this power that shows through in your eyes
So when you get out of the hospital
Let me back into your life
I can't stand what you do
But I'm in love with your eyes
07 Someone I Care About (03:40)
Well I don't want just a girl to fool around with
Well I don't want just a girl to ball alright
What I want is a girl that I care about
Or I want nothing at all.
nothing at all, Alright
well
Well I won't pretend I like a girl if I really don't
And act like she's great when she makes me feel appalled
All I want is a girl that I care about
Or I want nothing at all.
nothing at all
Well I don't want some cocaine sniffing triumph in the bar
Well I don't want a triumph in the car
I don't want to make a rich girl crawl
What I want is a girl that I care about
Or I want no one at all
Alright, listen to this now.
Picture this:
I'm walking with my girlfriend
28 misguided souls combined say, "We're moving in"
There's a certain kind of girl that you care about so much
You say, "I don't care what you guys do to me, but her, don't touch"
'Cause I don't want just a girl to fool around with
I don't want just a girl to ball
What I want is a girl that I care about
Or I want nothing at all
Oh all right
Well I don't want just a girl to fool around with, no
I don't want just a girl to ball, no
What I want is a girl that I care about
Or I want nothing at all.
All right gentlemen.
08 Girl Friend (03:55)
If I were to walk to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Well, first I'd go to the room where they keep the Cezanne
But if I had by my side a girlfriend
Then I could look through the paintings
I could look right through them
Because I'd have found something that I understand
I understand a girlfriend.
That's a girl friend
Said G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N
That's a girlfriend, baby
That's something that I understand
Alright
I walk through the Fenway, I have my heart in my hands
I understand a girlfriend
That's a girl friend
Oh that's a G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N
Well that's a girlfriend, baby
That's something that I understand.
Four o'clock in the afternoon in the Fenway,
I have my heart in my hands
I undertand a girlfriend
That's a girlfriend
That's G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N
That's a girlfriend, baby
Well that's something that I understand.
The Modern Lovers
American rock band led by Jonathan Richman, emerging in the early 1970s and noted for a proto-punk sound. Their debut album (released by Beserkley) is widely cited as influential.01 Reviews
