Rick Springfield
Written In Rock:
Rick Springfield Anthology (2005)
****1/2 (out of
*****)
RCA/Legacy/BMG
Records
The
purpose of a greatest hits collection is easy; gather all the hit singles, slap
a snazzy new cover over it and listen to the ringing of cash registers the
world over. An anthology is much more than that. It should narrow down the essence of the
artist onto disc, which in turn, shows the artists growth over that time. Since
we are getting more than just the hits, an anthology should encapsulate choice
tracks from the artist’s catalogue, which can show where the artist has been
and where they are going. At the very
least you should walk away thinking, “Damn, “x artist” is better than I thought.
I need to hear more of this!” With that in mind, “Written In Rock: Rick
Springfield Anthology”, is a perfect anthology.
The
first thing RCA/ Legacy did right was to enlist the cooperation of Rick
Springfield himself. Looking at how many
hits compilations there are of his music, it is amazing that this is the first
time he has ever been involved in compiling his work. “Written In Rock”
collects 42 tracks across 2 discs and spans an unbelievable 35 years. Yes, 35
years! By the time he scored a #1 hit
with “Jessie’s Girl” in 1981, he was already an industry veteran who thought
his chance at mainstream acceptance had passed him by.
It
is quite interesting listening to the arc of Rick Springfield’s work throughout
this collection. He ranged from the glam influences in his 70’s work to the
stripped down New Wave-influenced rock of “Working Class Dog”, the hard-edged
electronica of 1985’s criminally underrated “Tao” and back to a more straight
ahead rock sound on 2004’s, “Shock/ Denial/ Anger/ Acceptance”.
All
of the expected hit singles are present but it is surprising how the remaining
album tracks or lesser hits stand up. “I’ve Done Everything For You” was a Top
Ten hit but “Everybody’s Girl” (both from his breakthrough album “Working Class
Dog) is every bit as infectious and this holds true throughout the entire
collection - this is seriously catchy, pop/ rock at it’s finest.
This
collection excels at giving a good cross section of all of Springfield’s albums
by giving us a number of tracks from each record. “Working Class Dog” gets the
most nods by having seven songs here and each one is a gem - “Love is Alright Tonight”
is the ‘hit that should have been’! Sure, it’s not Dylan lyrically, but that is
hardly the point here, this is rock and roll that is supposed to be fun and
irreverent.
Nothing
wrong with a bit of fun now & again right?
Oddly
enough, by the time 1985’s “Tao” was released, Springfield entered a period of
soul searching which permeated a large portion of his work. While the music
still retained the hooks and melodicism of before, that sense of fun was partly
gone. Of course, Springfield was growing as a person and dealing with the
pressures of fame, getting married, having children as well as the traumatic
loss of his father; a theme which features heavily in quite a few songs here. While
the material did come to grapple with deeper themes from the mid-80’s onwards,
Springfield’s hooks and melodic sense prevented his albums from sinking into
the moribund.
This
collection leaves nothing to be desired – it is the perfect starting point for
a new listener, or the casual listener who may make this their only Springfield
disc. For the hard core fans, it is a great way to get remastered versions of
these tracks.
Highly
recommended!
No comments:
Post a Comment