Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | CBS, San Francisco | |||
Genre | Rock 'n' roll | |||
Length | 31:24 | |||
Label | Beserkley | |||
Producer | Matthew King Kaufman, Glen Kolotkin | |||
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [2] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [4] |
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | [5] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [6] |
Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers is the second album by American rock band Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released by Beserkley Records in 1977. [7] [8]
The album reached No. 50 in the UK Albums Chart. [9] The song "Egyptian Reggae" was a hit in Europe. [10]
Dave Marsh, in The New Rolling Stone Record Guide , wrote that Richman "lost his vision and became once more a teenage twerp ... Now you know why everybody picked on that kid in high school." [5] Greil Marcus, in The Village Voice , called the album "the purest rock and roll album I've heard this year, rooted as it is in the idea that as long as you keep a good beat, rock and roll is what you can get away with." [11] Trouser Press wrote: "Mixing traditional folk songs and lullabies with originals that would do Mister Rogers proud ('Ice Cream Man,' 'Rockin' Rockin' Leprechaun'), the ironically titled album stretched the ability of his adult fans to join in the fun." [12]
All tracks composed by Jonathan Richman, except where noted.
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
Technical
Jonathan Michael Richman 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 and electric backing. He now plays only acoustic to protect his hearing. He is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, and music that, while rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by music from around the world.
The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson and keyboardist Jerry Harrison. The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, and is now sometimes classified as "proto-punk". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock, new wave, alternative and indie rock music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers, contained idiosyncratic songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, love of life, and the USA.
Black and Blue is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records.
Andrew Douglas Paley is an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, Andy was a staff producer at Sire Records, producing albums for artists such as Brian Wilson, Jonathan Richman, NRBQ, John Wesley Harding, the Greenberry Woods, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He has also worked in film and television, composing scores and writing songs mostly for cartoons such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, Digimon, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Camp Lazlo.
Beserkley Records was an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, from 1973 to 1984. Beserkley is usually regarded as a power pop and rock and roll label. During the 1970s, the label released albums by Earth Quake, Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman, and The Modern Lovers, the Rubinoos, and the Tyla Gang. Several other artists appeared on singles, or on compilation albums. From 1980 to its dissolution in 1984, Beserkley was a one-artist label, the artist being Greg Kihn.
The Modern Lovers is the debut studio album by American rock band the Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in 1976, although, bar "Hospital", the original tracks had been recorded in 1972. Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale.
Helen of Troy is the sixth solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released in November 1975. It was the last of his three studio albums for Island Records.
"Roadrunner" is a song written by Jonathan Richman and recorded in various versions by Richman and his band, in most cases credited as the Modern Lovers. Richman has described it as an ode to Massachusetts Route 128.
Envy is the debut album by Ambitious Lovers. It was released in 1984 through E.G. Records. The album marked the first entry in what, at one point, was supposed to be a seven-album series on the seven deadly sins.
Rockin' and Romance is the fifth album by American rock band Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released in 1985 as part of a two-album deal for Richman with Geoff Travis's Rough Trade Records label in the UK. Originally planned for release in the U.S. by Sire Records, it was issued there by Twin/Tone Records.
Jonathan Sings! is the fourth album by American rock band Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released in 1983 by Sire Records.
Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper is the debut album of Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, released in 1985.
Flamingo is the second studio album by the rock band the Flamin' Groovies. It was released in 1970. Following the group's departure from the Epic record label, it was the first of their two albums for Kama Sutra Records.
The Backyard is the second release by the American alternative rock band Miracle Legion, released in 1984 on Rough Trade Records.
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers is the first album by American rock band Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released by Beserkley Records in July 1976.
None Shall Escape the Judgement is a 1973 song by Jamaican musician Earl Zero. It has spawned numerous cover versions.
Back in Your Life is the third album by American rock band Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released in February 1979 by Beserkley Records. Despite being credited to Richman and his backing band, the album only features the backing band on half of the album.
Having a Party with Jonathan Richman is an album by the American musician Jonathan Richman, released in 1991. Richman supported the album with a North American tour.
Modern Lovers 88 is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Recorded and released in late 1987, it became Richman's final recording alongside a backing band credited as the Modern Lovers. After a period of frequent switches from one record company to another, he released Modern Lovers 88 through Rounder Records, where he remained until the mid-1990s.
Surrender to Jonathan! is an album by the American musician Jonathan Richman, released in 1996. Richman was the first musician signed to Neil Young's Vapor Records. Richman supported the album by touring with a full band.