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Buy Jonathan Richman CDs here....

start your jojo collection here with the raw, garage sound of the original modern lovers.

this is my fave JoJo album. every track is cool. an essential purchase.

another winner. bona fide country tunes with the JoJo magic touch.

this one was re-issued by rev-ola. It marked JoJo's change in direction from the new wave sound of the original Modern Lovers to a more distinctive and accessible style. you might have trouble tracking this one down but it's well worth the hunt!

this one was the follow up to the above & was re-issued by rev-ola. again you might have trouble tracking this one down but it's worth the hunt!

if you wanna play safe, try this 2 cd 'best of'

 

 

 

 

 

 

JONATHAN RICHMAN

"I'm always going to have to know, I'm important in your life"

- Jonathan Richman from "Important In Your Life" 1976.

Jonathan Richman is undoubtedly the coolest of the uncool in popular music. For three decades now Jonathan Richman has enjoyed cult status amongst the lonely, misunderstood, sentimental and sad romantics amongst us! A hack from the NME recently spoke of his "service to frustrated boys everywhere". Yes, I can subscribe to that. There's no harm in admitting that in the company of Jonathan Richman's music. This is not the world of the manic depressive student bed-sit wastelands inhabited by Smiths fans in the 1980's.

His anti-rock stance and lo-fi attitude has made him an unlikely punk hero. Revered in music by the Rockingbirds in their glowing tribute 'Jonathan Jonathan' and paid homage by the BMX Bandits in their version of Jonathan's 'That Summer Feeling'.

His naive charm and unrelenting childlike vision has captured the hearts of many through goofy titled tracks like "Ice Cream Man", "Hey There Little Insect", "Abominable Snowman in the Market" and "I'm a Little Aeroplane".

In the sleeve notes for a Berserkley retrospective '23 great recordings by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers' released by Castle in 1993 Jonathan puts his unusual, leftfield traits down to his mother.

"My parents would sing little melodies to me once in a while when I was 2 or 3 years old and the kind of melodies that my mother liked and her sense of wit and funny rhymes have found their way into the music I make."

His music styles have varied over the years. From emulating his childhood heroes the Velvet Underground, flirting with garage rock, country (captured at best on his excellent 'Jonathan Goes Country' album), bubblegum pop, surf, latin, doo-wop to blue eyed soul.

Born May 15, 1951 in Boston (eulogised in many of his best work such as 'New England'), Massachusetts, Richman began playing guitar at the age of 15, and within a year was making his first public appearances.

In 1969 he relocated to New York, the home of the Velvet Underground and spent his first two weeks in the city sleeping on the Velvets' manager's couch searching for a break.

You will either love of hate Jonathan Richman. First impressions may throw many forever off the scent. The simple songs and off beat nasal vocal tones require a lot of tender loving care before the world of Jonathan Richman appears to be a more endearing place to be than the one we are forever seeking to escape. If that's frustration, I want some of that!

For no better example of how Richman has captured the hearts of a cult following you must listen to one of the live tracks featured on the aforementioned Castle compilation. Listening to the endearing response of the crowd to Jonathan's 'My little kookenhaken' you cannot help but fall in love to this special naïve charm as the crowd breaks down with spontaneous bouts of laughter. When he sings a silly dainty little song about a five-year-old Jonathan falling for a five-year-old girl he knew as his little kookenhaken, the crowd full of normal, respectable adults collapse! Just simple revel in the delights the songs absurd lyrical imagery conjures up when Jonathan teases the crowd with seemingly made up on the spot lyrics.

"Kookenhaken" sing the backing singers.

"Do you like that sound? I don't know what it means!" replies Jonathan.

He moved back to Boston in 1970, where he formed the Modern Lovers who eventually would be acknowledged as the origin of punk by the bands who were eventually feted with that tag in the mid seventies.

The first incarnation of the band lasted until 1973 without releasing any records but Richman had already recorded some of his most well known work such as 'Roadrunner' (which was finally a hit in the UK in 1977) and the Velvets like 'Pablo Picasso' .

In 1973 John Cale produced what should have been the debut Modern Lovers album for Warner Brothers but the album was shelved and the band prematurely dropped.

Richman formed a new stable line up with guitarist Leroy Radcliffe, Rubinoos bassist Greg "Curly" Keranen and drummer David Robinson. In 1976, they debuted with 'Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers' on Beserkley. The album emphasised the doo-wop flavour and wry pop melodies that remained hallmarks of his career featuring standout tracks 'New England', 'Important in your Life, Abominable snowman in the market', 'Hey there little insect' . The album has since been re-issued by Creation off shoot Rev Ola.

The same year saw the six unreleased John Cale produced tracks plus four others released on an album simply entitled 'The Modern Lovers'. The album is cited as a punk classic featuring angst-ridden adolescent tales married to stripped-down, minimalistic three chord pounding rock & roll. This release has been re-issued by Rhino.

The next Beserkely release was 'Rock & Roll with the Modern Lovers' (with D. Sharpe replacing Robinson on drums) and the band scored a major European hit with the instrumental "Egyptian Reggae". This third album spurned many more choice cuts such as 'Dodge Veg-O-Matic', 'Ice Cream Man' and 'Rollercoaster by the Sea'.

A 1978 live album 'Modern Lovers Live' recorded during a UK tour included the aforementioned 'My Little Kookenhaken' and an bouncy eight-minute jaunt through the classic 'Ice Cream Man' as the many highlights.

A year later, Richman released his final Berserkley release 'Back in your life' before eventually going solo after a period of self-imposed exile. He resurfaced in 1983 with Jonathan Sings! A series of strong pop records followed, including 1985's Rockin' and Romance, 1986's It's Time for Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (recorded with Brian Wilson song-writing partner Andy Paley), and Modern Lovers 88. In 1990, he released the self-explanatory Jonathan Goes Country.

The album features some storming Jonathan classics such as 'Since She Started To Ride'. It's an endearing, funny tale about a lover's obsessive preference for her horse over her frustrated partner.

"Well I don't see her much since she started with horses, no I don't see her much, since she started to ride" yearns our lonesome cowboy.

"Horses, humans if she had to rank it. You'd bet on they that canter and them that need fly spray"

These are absolutely hilarious, genius lyrics, typical of Jonathan on his finest form.

'Another classic cut is 'You're crazy for taking the bus' ("I'm crazy, so what's the fuss?" sings Jonathan playfully about his preferred mode of transport!). The country-tinged flavour only adds to the jovial mood Jonathan creates along with his backing band on fine form.

'I, Jonathan' also features strong material in the shape of 'That Summer Feeling', 'I Was Dancing in a Lesbian Bar' and the tribute to his primary influence 'Velvet Underground'. Later, he made another left turn with 1993's Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!, a collection of Latin-influenced songs performed entirely in Spanish.

He made a cameo appearance in the film 'Dumb & Dumber' several years ago and in 1998, he was also prominently featured in the hit film comedy There's Something About Mary. "I'm So Confused" is his latest acclaimed solo release on Neil Young's Vapor Records.

Jonathan Richman work is refreshingly unique. In a rock world that often takes itself far too seriously, Jonathan stands alone. Going against the grain but always singing with the same passion and belief that belongs to all the musical greats. Witty, fresh, innocent and enormously fun, a true maverick, nobody can come up with song titles as wacky as Jonathan's or sing songs about seemingly trivial, nonsensical subjects and sound so real.

Album Discography

Jonathan Richman albums are always difficult to find in your local record shops despite the fact that many of the albums have been re-issued on other labels such as Rev Ola, Rhino and Line. I have been looking for years in vain to add JR releases to my record collection and so far only managed to find a few albums in second hand record stores and paid full whack for the odd one or two I have found in the bigger record shops. Compilations are easier to find than actual albums but if you want to avoid buying the same material over again and miss out on the many hidden gems, stick to the original albums. Even at local record fairs I have struggled to find even one JR related item. On-line stores CD Now and Amazon do stock a large number of JR releases than you would find in stock in the shops but if you are looking to complete your collection you will have a long, hard but in the end a largely satisfying journey to undertake.

  • The Modern Lovers : The Modern Lovers
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : Rock'n'Roll With The Modern Lovers
  • The Modern Lovers : The Modern Lovers Live
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : Back in Your Life
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : The Jonathan Richman Songbook
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : Jonathan Sings!
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : Rockin' & Romance
  • The Modern Lovers : The Original Modern Lovers
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : It's Time For...
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : Modern Lovers 88
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : The Berserkley Years-The Best of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
  • Jonathan Richman : I am an American
  • Jonathan Richman : Rock Myself
  • Jonathan Richman : Jonathan Richman
  • Jonathan Richman : Jonathan Goes Country
  • Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers : 23 Great Recordings by Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
  • Jonathan Richman : Having A Party With Jonathan Richman
  • Jonathan Richman : I, Jonathan
  • Jonathan Richman : !Jonathan, Te Vas A Emocionar!
  • The Modern Lovers :Precise Modern Lovers Order Live in Beserkley & Boston
  • The Modern Lovers : Live at the Long Branch Saloon
  • Jonathan Richman : A Plea for Tenderness
  • Jonathan Richman : You Must Ask the Heart
  • Jonathan Richman : Surrender To Jonathan
  • Jonathan Richman: I am must be the king
  • Jonathan Richman : I'm so confused

JR Links

Here are a few Jonathan Richman related web sites to check out:

The Abominable Lesbian Vampire Cappuccino Bar in Cyberspace:
http://www.base.com/jonathan/jonathan.html
Vapor Records:
http://www.vaporrecords.com
Jonathan Richman Rockin' Lyrics Pages:
http://members.aol.com/gustoeater/jojo/


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Page updated: 20th February 1999



 

 

 

 

 

 

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