If I Were a Richman: a Tribute to the Music of Jonathan Richman

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Jonathan Richman's career as singer, songwriter, and all-around mischief-maker now spans more than thirty years. Like Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground before him, Richman has inspired countless music fans around the world to take off their headphones and strap on guitars. From his Velvet-inflected early days with the original Modern Lovers, through numerous iterations of the Lovers, to his latter-day solo career, Richman's work has mixed an arresting sense of innocence with a deep sensitivity to human emotion.

Tracks:

Someone I Care About (Fee Foe 5)
Pablo Picasso (Arms of Kismet)
Government Center (The Underhills)
When Harpo Played His Harp (The Crowd Scene)
Ice Cream Man (H.A.R.M.)
I'm a Little Airplane (Beeky)
Hey There Little Insect (Geoff P. Russell's Inhibition Exhibition)
Buzz Buzz Buzz (Frumious Snacktime)
I'm Straight (Space Robot Scientists)
Modern World (Early Lines)
She Cracked (The Young Adults)
Dignified and Old (Microwave Orphans)
Lonely Financial Zone (Kowtow Popof)
Twilight in Boston (Wampeters)

Album Description

Jonathan Richman's career as singer, songwriter, and all-around mischief-maker now spans more than thirty years. Like Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground before him, Richman has inspired countless music fans around the world to take off their headphones and strap on guitars. From his Velvet-inflected early days with the original Modern Lovers, through numerous iterations of the Lovers, to his latter-day solo career, Richman's work has mixed an arresting sense of innocence with a deep sensitivity to human emotion. Tribute features Fee Foe 5, Arms of Kismet, The Underhills, The Crowd Scene, H.A.R.M., Beeky, Geoff P. Russell's Inhibition Exhibition, Frumious Snacktime, Space Robot Scientists, Early Lines, The Young Adults, Microwave Orphans, Kowtow Popof and Wampeters.

Customer Reviews:

Great party record!.......2001-12-05

I've been a Jonathan fan for a long time and it's really great to hear a compilation like this. Lots of energy and humor, and very true to the spirit of Jonathan. It mostly focuses on his early ('70s) songs, but there are a couple versions of his more recent tunes, too. I'm hooked. If you want to hear classic Jonathan Richman songs done the way Jonathan might do them now, get this CD!

I think they all work for Wampus!.......2001-12-03

Hey, I'm sorry, I'm listening to it right now and it is...absolutely horrible! If you go way back with Jo-Jo, stay away from this garbage. Who's kidding who - It appears to be a bunch of locals (DC) doing disastrous covers of Jonathan songs. No feeling, no heart, no character. Totally bogus and contrived. Jonathan deserves so much better than this.

The folks at Wampus did a great job!.......2001-05-11

This cd is an absolute necessity for Jonathan Richman fans. There's a great flow to these tracks, with a nice blend of Jonathan's earliest to his more recent music. We get Jonathan at his most punk (Pablo Picasso, I'm Straight, Modern World) and at his very sweetest (Government Center, Ice Cream Man, Little Airplane). There isn't a bad song on the whole thing!

The opening track is from a great band called the Fee Foe 5 "Someone I Care About" who sound like ? and the Mysterians meet the original Modern Lovers (check out that organ)! The band most likely to make you wanna slam dance was definitely the Microwave Orphans, "Dignified and Old." The band most likely to make you wanna dance like the Peanuts gang - that was a tie between the Underhill's "Government Center" and Beeky's "Little Airplane." Jonathan himself recommends the Crowd Scene's track "When Harpo Played His Harp." (I was there when he said it Mal) And Geoff P. Russell's Inhibition Exhibition's has the most original version of "Hey There Little Insect" ever recorded. The disk ends with two of my favorite Jonathan songs, "Lonely Financial Zone" by Kowtow Popof, and "Twilight in Boston" by the Wampeters.

Great selection of songs. 47 minutes of FUN!

hoping for a sequel.......2001-05-10

this cd is really something to behold. from the great album design to each and every song. i can only hope these groups decide to do a sequel. maybe one a year, not just of jojo songs, but maybe a cheap trick trib, or herman's hermits. that would be great. i wonder if there are any videos to these songs on the web?? kudos to all at wampus multimedia for a job well done.

-bob

MY GIRLFREN TRICKED ME INTO IT ..........2001-04-13