SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JONATHAN RICHMAN – I, JONATHAN

Jonathan Richman
I, Jonathan
Craft Recordings

Jonathan Richman’s 1992 masterpiece I, Jonathan, is now remastered for its first ever vinyl release. The cover should say it all, initially. You see Richman smiling, but it is a smile that reflects inherent personal sadness.

Jonathan Richman actually seems to be an eternally melancholy man, even when he has his tongue deeply inserted into his cheek. No wonder. For some, getting electrocuted on stage would spell the end of a career, for Richman it was a sign for internal and external personal change. No wonder the Farrelly Brothers chose him for their Greek tragedy funny man in There’s Something About Mary.

It is all in the grooves of I, Jonathan’s 10 tracks, from musical inspirations (“Parties in the USA,” “Velvet Underground”) to coy joy, (“I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar”), to melancholy (“Twilight In Boston”) and to just plain sadness (“You Can’t Talk To The Dude”). Of course, all with that inimitable Jonathan Richman twist, and the almost shambolic but perfect lo-fi mess that seems like it will fall apart at any second but never does.

Simply essential, in any musical format you please.

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