''Jonathan Richman'' is a solo album by
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...
, released by
Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...
in 1989. With the exception of "Blue Moon" and "Sleepwalk", the songs were recorded as
vocal
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...
and
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
solos by Richman, who provided percussion with his feet.
"I Eat With Gusto, Damn! You Bet" is
spoken-word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
.
Critical reception
The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' praised Richman's "perennially palpable sincerity."
[
]
Track listing
All tracks written by Jonathan Richman except where noted.
#"Malagueña de Jojo" (Marian Banks, Ernesto Lecuona) – 2:08
#"Action Packed" (Jack Rhodes) – 2:51
#"Everyday Clothes" – 3:01
#"Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...
" – 2:51
#"Blue Moon
A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season.
The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...
" (Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...
, Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...
) – 3:50
#"Closer" – 3:26
#"I Eat With Gusto, Damn! You Bet" – 3:50
#"Miracles Will Start to Happen" – 3:03
#" Sleepwalk" ( Santo Farina, Johnny Farina) – 2:09
#"Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?
"Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?" (, ''What Remains of Our Loves?'') is a French popular song, with music by Léo Chauliac and Charles Trenet and lyrics by Charles Trenet. A version of the song with English lyrics entitled "I Wish You Love" i ...
" (Charles Trenet
Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (; 18 May 1913 – 19 February 2001) was a renowned French singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics to nearly a thousand songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These include ...
) – 1:54
#"A Mistake Today for Me" – 2:09
#"Cerca" (Spanish version of "Closer") – 3:40
Personnel
*Jonathan Richman – vocals, guitar
* Curly Keranen – bass on "Blue Moon" and "Sleepwalk"
*Ron "Wipeout" Wilson – drums on "Blue Moon" and "Sleepwalk"
;Technical
*Brennan Totten – producer
*Paul Emery – engineer
References
{{Authority control
Jonathan Richman albums
1989 albums
Rounder Records albums