Rock of Life

Not to be confused with Rock for Life.

Rock of Life
Studio album by Rick Springfield
Released	March 1988
Genre	Pop rock, power pop
Label	RCA
Producer	Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield chronology
Tao (1985) Rock of Life (1988) Karma (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Rock of Life is the tenth studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Rick Springfield, issued by RCA Records in 1988. The record peaked at a modest No. 55 on the Billboard album chart, selling approximately 350,000 copies in United States. It was the least successful of Springfield's RCA album releases.

The title-track, however, was a successful single, reaching No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single, "Honeymoon in Beirut" was Springfield's only single not to chart in Billboard's Hot 100 during his eight years on the label.

This album was Springfield's last album of new material for RCA Records. Although not a commercial success, Rock of Life did garner some positive reviews from critics. People reviewer Ralph Novak pointed out that "even [Springfield's] standard romantic tunes get away from romantic cliches."

Shortly after the release of this album, Springfield took a break from his music career to spend more time with his wife and children, as well as focus on his acting career. He would not release another album for 11 years.

Track listing

All songs written by Rick Springfield, except where noted.

1. "Rock of Life"
2. "Honeymoon in Beirut"
3. "World Start Turning"
4. "One Reason (to Believe)"
5. "Soul to Soul"
6. "Tear It All Down"
7. "Woman"
8. "Dream in Colour" (Springfield, Jeff Silverman)
9. "Hold On to Your Dream"
10. "(If You Think You're) Groovy" (Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane)

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position
Canada (Canadian Albums Chart)	65
United States (Billboard 200)	55

Personnel

• Rick Springfield - vocals, guitar, keyboards, sampler, percussion, backing vocals
• Randy Jackson - bass
• Curt Cress - drums, percussion
• Rose Banks, Tommy Funderbunk - backing vocals

Production

• Produced by Keith Olsen and Rick Springfield
• Engineered by Brian Foraker
• Mastered by Greg Fulginiti

After the release of Tao, Springfield suffered from a case of major writer's block. Rock of Life is considered to be the darkest Springfield album of his career. Springfield stated in a 1997 interview, "Yeah, very dark at that point. That's why I took some time off. It was a pretty dark time".

See also

• Rick Springfield discography