''Rock of Life'' is the 11th studio album by Australian singer-songwriter
Rick Springfield
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...
, issued by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in 1988. The record peaked at a modest No. 55 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' album chart, selling approximately 350,000 copies in United States. It was the least successful of Springfield's RCA album releases.
The title track, however, was a successful single, reaching No. 22 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
A second single, "Honeymoon in Beirut" was Springfield's only single not to chart in Billboard's Hot 100 during his eight years on the label.
This album was Springfield's last album of new material for RCA Records. Although not a commercial success, ''Rock of Life'' did garner some positive reviews from critics. People reviewer Ralph Novak pointed out that "even
pringfield'sstandard romantic tunes get away from romantic cliches."
Shortly after the release of this album, Springfield took a break from his music career to spend more time with his wife and children, as well as focus on his acting career. He would not release another solo album for 11 years, though he did release a group album in 1997 with
Sahara Snow.
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' called the title track a "ballsy, reggae-like track that nearly tears apart the speakers" with influences from
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
and
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
.
Track listing
All songs written by Rick Springfield, except where noted.
#"Rock of Life" - 3:52
#"Honeymoon in Beirut" - 4:28
#"World Start Turning" - 5:41
#"One Reason (To Believe)" - 4:05
#"Soul to Soul" - 4:46
#"Tear It All Down" - 4:17
#"Woman" - 5:53
#"Dream in Colour" (Springfield, Jeff Silverman) - 4:32
#"Hold On to Your Dream" - 4:38
#"(If You Think You're) Groovy" (
Steve Marriott
Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...
,
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73).
Lane formed Small Faces in ...
) - 4:00
Total length: 45:53
Charts
Personnel
*Rick Springfield - vocals, guitar, keyboards, sampler, percussion, backing vocals
*
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013.
Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...
- bass
*Curt Cress - drums, percussion
*Rose Banks,
Tommy Funderbunk - backing vocals
See also
*
Rick Springfield discography
References
1988 albums
Rick Springfield albums
RCA Records albums
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