Search - Jonathan Richman :: Jonathan Goes Country

Jonathan's "Nashville Skyline"

Justin St. Clair | Seattle, WA USASeattle, WA USA | 08/13/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With this CD, Jonathan Richman embraces the country ethos, but without a trace of the urban irony one would expect in the context of his early Modern Lovers days. It includes some fun, honest originals that make it sound like Jonathan's been writing country songs all his life, as well as some heartfelt covers. There are some duds here, too, but the hilights outweigh them. The session work on this cd is also a highlight, especially the guitar work, which is both true to the country vein and blends well with Jonathan's unique style.
The opening track, "Since She Started to Ride," sets the pace well. On the surface, this is a simple song about a girl whose equestrian leanings are getting a little out of control in her boyfriend's opinion. I've always thought this also held a deeper level as well, a musing about growing apart wrapped in a goofy fable.
"Reno" follows up with it's infectuous, two-word chorus ("Reno, Reno, Reno, honey, Reno, Reno, Reno"). A great song about infantile impatience and the little city in Nevada that caters to it.
"I Must be King" is a good cover with some nice flourishes of honky-tonk piano, though the line "She and I are like brother and sister" makes my neurotic, Freudian side a little uncomfortable.
"You're Crazy for Taking the Bus" is probably my favorite song on this CD. It's a great little slice of Jonathan's simplistic philosophy. It's a great open road song, lightly shunning our jet set culture. The chorus is a great rockabilly back-and-forth that will stick in your head for days and make you laugh out of nowhere at inappropriate moments.
"Neighbors" is full of the Spanish kind of flavor Jonathan has delved into in more recent years, but I guess it fits on a country record in a Southwest kind of way. The lyrics are more Jonathan philosophy, though a little more ambiguous. Whatever it means, it's a great song with more of his comedic vocal style in full force.
The center of this CD, in my mind is the haunting cover "Man Walks Among Us." This song has more old-fashioned stylings than the other selections, but this belies the underlying sophistication of the lyrics. Images of animals scurrying from a man wandering through the desert, signaling to each other "Man walk among us, be still," are followed by the words "Soon will be gone all the deserts. Cities will cover each hill." Do the animal understand Man's destructive force better than we do? This was definitely more than I expected from a fun country detour of a CD.
"Satisfied Mind" closes the disc on a similarly subdued note, a cliched but warm and melodic cover about the falsity in our dreams of riches.
The rest range from descent to throwaways, but the CD does work as a complete listen, especially driving down the Western highways that inhabit this unique and wonderful cd."