Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers: “Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers” (1976/2022) CD Review

As we get to the end of a tough year, it seems the right time for some good, fun music. And as luck would have it, several Jonathan Richman albums were re-issued this year, including the 1976 self-titled release from Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers. This is the album that gave us “Abominable Snowman In The Market” and “Here Come The Martian Martians.” This is just the sort of thing we need. The album contains mostly original material, along with just a couple of covers.

The album opens with “Rockin’ Shopping Center,” a ridiculously enjoyable song about finding oneself at an unfamiliar shopping center. “You see, you got the different labels and the different brands/Each little region across the land/Different colors in the different states.”  See, for those who are young, different regions used to have different stores, before everything became the same. This song features some delicious rock and roll guitar work and a beat to keep things hopping, plus some wonderfully goofy lines like “If I were a shopping center, I’d sure be embarrassed/I know I’d never get a date with some cute little building, like from Paris.” The Modern Lovers keep things in that classic rock and roll vein with a cover of “Back In The U.S.A.” Jonathan gives a brief introduction: “‘Back In The U.S.A.’ by Chuck Berry as done by The Modern Lovers.” Being from Boston, Jonathan changes the line “Let alone just to be at my home back in old St. Lou” to “Oh, not to mention being home in Boston, Massachusetts.” Oh yes, this song is almost enough to make us happy once again to be living in this country. Remember that feeling, that sort of innocence?

I love when Jonathan Richman turns to love songs, as he does on this album with “Important In Your Life.” His delivery is so sweet, so honest. “I know a girl, she’s important to me/When I feel separate from her, I am in misery/Dear, let me know that I’m important in your life.” I also love when we hear him give instructions to his bandmates, as he does here: “Guitar, ready, set, go.” He does that at the beginning of “New England” too: “Well now, give me an E, maestro.”  He also tells us, “You know I’ve been all around the world, but I love New England best.” This is one of my favorites, probably at least in part because I’m from Massachusetts. (Though at the moment I’m glad to be in California; who needs those New England winter temperatures?) This is a song I put on more than one mix tape back in the day, and its appeal has never lessened.

“Lonely Financial Zone” sounds so serious at it begins, even dark. Then Jonathan delivers the first lines, and we’re reminded not to take anything too seriously: “In the lonely financial zone by the sea/I have walked under moon and stars/Skyscrapers shone in their dark majesty/In this otherworldly land of ours.” By the way, the financial district in Boston is near the Government Center, another place that Jonathan Richman has sung about (though not on this album). “Lonely Financial Zone” is followed by “Hi Dear.” At the beginning he sings, “Hi, dear, I know you still care about me/Even when you don’t let it show/I have no fear because I know you still care about me/Even when you don’t let it show.” He then says, “You can’t fool me, you can’t fool me,” and the others gently respond, “No,” which is a wonderful moment. The song soon kicks in to become another fun rock and roll number, but then still finds these wonderful, soft moments.

Well, on this album he’s already taken us to a shopping center and the financial district, and now he takes us to the market with “Abominable Snowman In The Market.” And, yes, this is another song that I’ve put on a few mix tapes. It is a whole lot of fun. “Look, we have to talk to this abominable snowman man/And we have to say something that he can understand/That’s right, there’s an abominable snowman in the market/And he’s doing better every day.” The fun continues with “Hey There Little Insect.” I love Jonathan’s spoken word introductions, which sometimes are a song’s opening lines, as is the case here: “Hey there, little insect, don’t scare me so/Don’t land on me and bite me, no/Hey there little insect, please calm down/Then we’ll have fun and fool around.” This track is one of the album’s best. The Modern Lovers imitate the buzzing of insects. This song was also included on the 1977 live album, appropriately titled Live, which was also re-issued this year. On an album where the abominable snowman makes an appearance, it should come as no surprise that there are also Martians. And what is the most important question regarding first contact with an alien species? You got it: “What kind of ice cream do the Martians like?” Seriously, how can anyone not completely love this song, this album, this artist?

‘Springtime” has a sweeter vibe, and is delivered with just vocals and guitar, building in energy as it goes. “I feel so alive, so alive, so alive/I feel each bee coming out of their hive/I’m so alive, so alive, so lovin’/The world must feel my heart pounding because it’s throbbin’ and it’s throbbin’ and it’s throbbin’.” The album then concludes with its other cover, “Amazing Grace.” I’ve always loved this song, but it means even more to me now, after my niece and nephew performed it at my dad’s service earlier this month. Jonathan Richman offers a gentle, personal rendition. Here he sings, “Sometimes I’ve worried so much, felt so lost/But then I always feel found/And I should know by now/That grace is something that’s always within.” Like the previous track, this one is just vocals and guitar, and is beautiful. “And amazing grace, how sweet is thy sound/That brought my joy back home to me again.”

CD Track List

1. Rockin’ Shopping Center
2. Back In The U.S.A.
3. Important In Your Life
4. New England
5. Lonely Financial Zone
6. Hi Dear
7. Abominable Snowman In The Market
8. Hey There Little Insect
9. Here Come The Martian Martians
10. Springtime
11. Amazing Grace

This re-issue of Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers was released on August 19, 2022 through Omnivore Recordings.