Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics

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Jonathan Richman

  • Having a Party With Jonathan Richman [Rounder, 1991]
  • Action Packed: The Best of Jonathan Richman [Rounder, 2002] ★★★
  • Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love [Sanctuary/Vapor, 2004] Dud
  • Revolution Summer: Original Soundtrack to the Film [Vapor, 2007] Dud
  • No Me Quiejo De Mi Estrella [Vapor/Munster, 2014] ★★★
  • Only Frozen Sky Anyway [Blue Arrow, 2025] B+

See Also:

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Having a Party With Jonathan Richman [Rounder, 1991]
confessions of a reluctant grownup ("Monologue About Bermuda," "The Girl Stands Up to Me Now")

Action Packed: The Best of Jonathan Richman [Rounder, 2002]
miniaturist under the magnifying glass ("Monologue About Bermuda," "Closer," "You're Crazy for Taking the Bus") ★★★

Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love [Sanctuary/Vapor, 2004] Dud

Revolution Summer: Original Soundtrack to the Film [Vapor, 2007] Dud

No Me Quiejo De Mi Estrella [Vapor/Munster, 2014]
Digs Leonard Cohen, digs his wife more, is so big in Spain he's learning the language, and--one more thing--will never own a cell ("Here It Is," "You Can Have a Cell Phone That's OK but Not Me") ★★★

Only Frozen Sky Anyway [Blue Arrow, 2025]
Begins "When I make my transition/I want everyone to know I only changed position/'Cause I was only just frozen sky/Anyway." So while admittedly confused by the frozen sky stuff, I don't get why some deny that this is a death or mortality album, or brush by the possibility that at a mere 74 pioneering protopunk novelty artist Richman has been diagnosed with something not just worth keeping an eye on but actively ominous albeit far from impending—vague but all too common distinctions that I've had on my mind as an 83-year-old ever since being fitted for an ablation and a stent over the past six months. My guess is that he's happy to have such themes available, drolly at times, and note that what sounds like "dark star" here is actually "dog star": to be precise, Sirius, the very brightest in the sky. Going somewhere, Jonathan? Not yet. B+