I, Jonathan
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | 8.7/10[2] |
I, Jonathan is the fourth solo album by Jonathan Richman, released by the Rounder Records label in 1992. As the founder of influential protopunk band The Modern Lovers, Richman had strived to convey authentic emotions and storytelling with his music. I, Jonathan continued this aesthetic with simple and sparse rock and roll arrangements, and straightforward lyrics about mundane topics.
Songs on the album addressed topics such as backyard parties ("Parties in the U.S.A"), memories of neighborhoods in which Richman had lived ("Rooming House on Venice Beach" and "Twilight in Boston") and his admiration of his primary musical inspiration, the Velvet Underground ("Velvet Underground"). The latter song includes a brief interlude of the Velvet Underground song, Sister Ray.[3]
The album helped increase Richman's cultural profile, which would include a 1993 appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in which Richman performed one of the album's songs, "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar".[2]
Track listing
All songs were written by Jonathan Richman unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Parties in the U.S.A." | 4:42 |
| 2. | "Tandem Jump" | 2:10 |
| 3. | "You Can't Talk to the Dude" | 2:49 |
| 4. | "Velvet Underground (Richman, Lou Reed)" | 3:23 |
| 5. | "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar" | 3:40 |
| 6. | "Rooming House on Venice Beach" | 5:04 |
| 7. | "That Summer Feeling" | 6:02 |
| 8. | "Grunion Run" | 2:31 |
| 9. | "A Higher Power" | 3:02 |
| 10. | "Twilight in Boston" | 4:08 |
| Total length: | 37:31 | |
Personnel
- Jonathan Richman - vocals, guitars, bass ("Velvet Underground")
- Ned Claflin - vocals, tremolo guitar and 2nd guitar on "Grunion Run"
- Tom Nelson - vocals
- Scot Woodland - vocals, congas
- Josef Marc - bass, drums ("I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar"), guitar ("Twilight in Boston")
- Steve Nobels - percussion, backing singing
- Jason Wilkinson - percussion, drums ("Parties in the USA"), backing singing
- John Rinkor - percussion, bass ("Parties in the USA"), backing singing
- Mike Buckmaster - percussion, backing singing
- Willie Robertson - percussion, backing singing
- Andy Paley - drums ("Grunion Run")
- Brennan Totten - drums ("A Higher Power")
- Jim Washburn - bass ("That Summer Feeling", "Twilight in Boston" and "Grunion Run")
- John Girton - guitar ("That Summer Feeling")
- Brennan Totten - producer
- John Girton - engineer
References
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. I, Jonathan - Jonathan Richman at AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
- ^ a b Hogan, Marc (22 April 2018). "Jonathan Richman I, Richman". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ Hann, Michael (2014-01-22). "10 of the best: Jonathan Richman". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
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