I picked up this classic Modern Lovers live album at a car boot sale a few weeks ago, and strangely it seems to be unavailable at the minute, so here's your chance to hear it. Anyone unfamiliar with the work of Jonathan Richman may be confused and perturbed by what might initially sound like the cracked ravings of some adenoidal man-child, however this one is worth several chances and unless you have a heart of stone, it's bound to win you over in the end. The charm, good-humour and optimism of his lyrics and performance are utterly infectious and these songs are sure to put a smile on your face if you're feeling low (which I sincerely hope you are not!).
Tracklist:
Side One: I'm A Little Airplane / Hey There Little Insect / Egyptian Reggae / Ice Cream Man
Side Two: I'm A Little Dinosaur / My Little Kookenhaken / South American Folk Song / New England / The Morning Of Our Lives
Get it HERE.
7 comments:
Thanks.
Iirc, even when this is available digitally, it's altered. For example "Ice Cream Man" is shorter.
I believe his "adenoidal" tone comes from his "New England" accent. Quite a common tone from up there, from what I've heard.
But thanks for this one, I had kinda forgotten about this band. Nice to pull it out again.
Adenoidal is a bit strong, nasal is closer to the mark, but I was just trying to say that people who've never heard Jonathan Richman (young people for example) may think his voice (and subject matter) strange.
I was lucky enough to see Jonathan a number of times in the late '80s and early '90s and he is still one of the best live performers I've ever seen. He has an amazing presence and seems to build a real relationship with the audience, to the point where he could pretty much do anything. He will stop part way through a song to tell you about something that's come into his head and then end up off on a tangent telling stories, then back to the song. He is back in England this month so I'm hoping I'll get to see him again
Wow, amazing. Thank you. JR CDs are quite hard to source(Purchase and download) online. Been trying to find where "Morning of our lives" originally came from for ages..
Since its release in 1977 this has strangely been one of my favourite albums. It puts a smile on your face, it will only not win you over if, indeed, you have a heart of stone.
Huge fan of Jojo! I have been searching for this album for years now! But now sadly the link is dead :(. Any chance of reposting it? Would be appreciated a great deal!
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