The Modern Lovers

     A few years ago, a co-worker did the unthinkable; at least for me. He was moving to New York and decided to put a bunch of his cd's on a hard drive and then sell them. Even though I thought he was crazy, he offered me the chance to go through them before they were put up for sale. Now, he wasn't totally insane. He kept his rare and signed cd's, but the rest I could buy. I got a bunch of Teenage Fanclub, a Wire best of, Steve Earle and some other stuff. Then I saw a cd I'd never heard of before. "Who are The Modern Lovers?", I asked. He proceeded to tell me what a great album it was, so I decided to take a flyer on it. I was not disappointed.
     The first thing that surprised me about The Modern Lovers was the band members. I had heard of Jonathan Richman, but I wasn't familiar with any of his albums. The keyboard player was Jerry Harrison. Yes, the Jerry Harrison of the Talking Heads. It's odd to hear him play on this album, because he sounds like Ray Manzarek of The Doors on most of it. Then there was David Robinson. He couldn't possibly be the drummer from The Cars. Yes he could, and he was. His playing with The Modern Lovers was much less precise than his work with The Cars. This is probably due to the fact that The Modern Lovers is actually a cobbled together demo and not a proper album. Most of the album was recorded in 1973 with John Cale producing. Unfortunately, it was scrapped at the time and wasn't released until 1976 in it's raw form. Oddly, that's what makes it so great. The bad news is by 1976 The Modern Lovers were no longer a band and the album went nowhere.
     Many of the reviews I've read about The Modern Lovers mention Richman's love of the Velvet Underground. I have to admit, I don't listen to the Velvets and what I have heard doesn't do anything for me, so I can't speak to those comparisons. To me, they sound like part Doors and part live J. Geils Band. Much of the "live" feel is due to Richman's delivery and the fact that these are really just demos. The album starts with Richman counting in 1,2,3,4,5,6 then breaking into the classic track, "Roadrunner". Whenever I start to hate the government or capitalism, I listen to "Roadrunner" and fall in love with America all over again. Throughout the album, Richman banters with the rest of the band and they play off him. On many of the songs, Richman seems to be making up the lyrics as he goes. I'm reasonably certain Stephen Malkmus is a fan of The Modern Lovers; just sayin'. The track "Pablo Picasso", in particular, seems like a reference point for Malkmus' style. Plus Richman rhymes Picasso with asshole and avocado with El Dorado, which is fantastic. The song "I'm Straight" is delivered like an actual phone call from an awkward guy to a girl. I wish I'd heard this album in 1976, because I identify strongly with Richman's lyrics. I was the awkward guy who wasn't confident with girls. My favorite song on the album is "Someone I Care About". It's an anti-cock rock song. It's about finding that one amazing girl rather than just getting with every girl you can. And it rocks. I also enjoy on the song "Girlfriend" how he spells it out G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N.
     The Modern Lovers is an amazing album and I strongly recommend it, if for no other reason than the song "Roadrunner". It's an oft-covered rock and roll classic. Peace.