Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers: “Back In Your Life” (1979/2022) CD Review

You know, if anyone else had written and recorded a song titled “My Love Is A Flower (Just Beginning To Bloom),” you’d think it the most cheesy thing imaginable. But when Jonathan Richman does it, well, it just totally works. He not only avoids being cheesy somehow, but manages to be completely endearing and earnest and, yes, cool. There really is no one else like Jonathan Richman. And now folks are getting another chance to hear a lot of his material, thanks to new re-issues by Omnivore Recordings. The Modern Lovers’ Live comes out later this week, and then next month Back In Your Life is being re-issued. This album was originally released in 1979, and features mostly original material written by Jonathan Richman. The band is made up of Jonathan Richman on guitar and vocals, Leroy Radcliffe on guitar and vocals, D. Sharpe on drums and vocals, and Asa Brebner on bass and vocals.

The album opens with “Abdul And Cleopatra.” The first time I heard this song a few decades ago, what struck me was that funny rhyme of “Abdul’s not seen Cleopatra” with “How I wonder where she’s atra.” And again, that seems to be something that only Jonathan Richman can get away with. What is it about this guy? Part of it is the way he doesn’t try to sell himself at all; he just is. You know? Everything about him feels completely natural. There is no show, no act, no bullshit. I love how in this song he refers to Cleopatra as “that old girl.” I also like Leroy Radcliffe’s lead on guitar, and that section with the backing vocals echoing some of Jonathan’s words. And just before the end, there is a section with just vocals and hand claps. By the way, this is a love song. That’s followed by “(She’s Gonna) Respect Me,” which has a humorous intro in which he checks to make sure it’s just men in the room, reminding me of that bit in Life Of Brian where women are at the stoning. This song is totally adorable. Like a lot of Jonathan Richman recordings, there is an improvised feel to it, and a loose vibe. “I’m a man now, and not a boy/And I can’t worry what she’ll do or think about me/I can’t worry/Well, she can go if she wants to go/But I got to do the things that I believe.” And, come on, he and the others sing “Hi ho, silver.” How can you not love this song? How can you not love this group?

The first of the album’s covers is “Lover Please,” a song written by Billy Swan and recorded by Clyde McPhatter and released as a single in 1962. Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers deliver an instrumental rendition that has that classic beat and groove. That’s followed by “Affection.” “People all over the world are starving just for affection,” Jonathan Richman sings at the beginning of this song. This one has a more somber sound. Jonathan Richman is always sincere, yet there is nearly always at least a bit of humor to his delivery. And such is the case here, where he sings, “You know I used to starve for affection/I blamed the world, and it could be the world’s fault, I suppose.” It’s a song about how people need affection and fear rejection. “So I say that people all over the world are good/People all over the world ain’t bad/But if they keep being snobs about it/They’re never gonna get what they wish they had/And that’s affection.” This track features some really nice work on guitar during that instrumental section in the second half, with a bit of a 1960s sound. This is one of the album’s highlights for me.

“Buzz Buzz Buzz” is the second of the album’s songs not written by Jonathan Richman. It was written by John Gray and Robert Byrd, and originally recorded by The Hollywood Flames. This rendition by Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers is cute beyond words. Seriously. It is like a children’s song, and Jonathan is completely earnest in his delivery. “You see, buzz buzz buzz goes the honeybee/But twiddley twiddley tweet goes the bird/But the sound of your little voice, darling/That’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.” That’s followed by “Back In Your Life,” the album’s title track, which is another of my personal favorites. It’s one of the many songs in which Jonathan Richman refers to himself by name: “Well, take me way up north to meet your mom and dad/So they’ll see that Jonathan ain’t quite so bad/I want to be back in your life, I want to be back in your life.” Just vocals and guitar, giving it a more immediate feel. You get the sense of him just grabbing the guitar and singing this to the woman in question. And, come on, this guy can make up a rhyme for “maple syrup”: “Show me the saddle, and show me the stirrup/And then we’ll help your daddy when he goes out for maple syrup.” Again, there is no one like him. I love the way he describes time passing: “What once was a puppy is now a dog/And what once was a piglet is now a hog.”

“Party In The Woods Tonight” is goofy and a lot of fun. It’s about animals (and monsters) getting together for a party  in the woods. Check out these lines: “Well, the bears are all there/They’re in the pink/They brought their favorite records/Too bad they stink.” You know, I always figured it was the record that stunk, but maybe that line refers to the bears themselves. Then we get “My Love Is A Flower (Just Beginning To Bloom),” a song I cannot help but love. It is so sweet, so earnest, and just wonderful. And the title line rhymes with “Like those things from your garden that spring from gloom.” How great is that? He then offers this observation: “She’s still learning to love herself/She’s still learning to let herself go/And she’s still learning to trust herself/And Jonathan’s got to be patient because I know/That my love is a flower just beginning to bloom.” Yes, this is another song in which he mentions himself by name. That’s followed by “I’m Nature’s Mosquito,” the last of the album’s original numbers. It’s a song that might actually create a little affection for mosquitos, or at least tolerance. If it’s possible, then this is the song to do it. There is a goofy section where they all imitate the sound of a mosquito.

The album’s final three tracks are covers. The first of those is a traditional number titled “Emaline,” a slow, touching number in which Jonathan asks, “Can’t you hear my heart whisper through your window?” The song’s first line mentions a lullaby, and this song has something of the vibe of a lullaby, at least for a time. That’s followed by a cover of “Lydia,” a song by Lewis Lymon And The Teenchords. These guys delivers a really nice rendition, and I can’t help but laugh when Jonathan sings, “Let’s tell her acappeller.” The album then concludes with “I Hear You Calling Me,” a pretty song featuring a moving vocal performance by Jonathan Richman. “And all the weary gladness in your voice/That warmth that’s made my longing heart rejoice/You spoke, do you remember/All my heart still hears the distant music of your voice.”

CD Track List

1. Abdul And Cleopatra
2. (She’s Gonna) Respect Me
3. Lover Please
4. Affection
5. Buzz Buzz Buzz
6. Back In Your Life
7. Party In The Woods Tonight
8. My Love Is A Flower (Just Beginning To Bloom)
9. I’m Nature’s Mosquito
10. Emaline
11. Lydia
12. I Hear You Calling Me

This special re-issue of Back In Your Life is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2022 through Omnivore Recordings.