Surrender to Jonathan
Many people have never forgiven Jonathan Richman for completely revamping his music after releasing one classic album of brilliant, Lou Reed-inspired rock'n'roll,Modern Lovers, in 1976. He abandoned loud guitars and young-adult angst for songs of un-ironic innocence about "Rockin' Leprechauns" and the "Abominable Snowman in the Market," set to the sparse instrumentation of pre-Beatles rock and pop. His core audience, which sustained Richman through constant touring and an album-a-year on small labels, apparently included Neil Young, who has signed the former Modern Lover to his new label, Vapor. Richman's first Vapor album, "Surrender to Jonathan," isn't much different from its predecessors on Rounder, Sire and Beserkley, and even recycles three songs--"Egyptian Reggae," "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar," and "To Hide a Little Thought."--Geoffrey Himes