| The Modern Lovers | ||||
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| Released | August 1976 (1976-08) | |||
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| Label | Beserkley | |||
| Producer | Robert Appère,John Cale,Allan Mason | |||
| The Modern Lovers chronology | ||||
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| Jonathan Richman chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Modern Lovers | ||||
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The Modern Lovers is the debutstudio album by Americanrock bandthe Modern Lovers. It was released onBeserkley Records in 1976, though the original tracks had been recorded in 1971 and 1972. Six of the original tracks were produced byJohn Cale. The album pointed towardsalternative music genres such aspunk rock,new wave andindie rock.[4]
The album has been featured three times onRolling Stone magazine's list ofthe 500 greatest albums of all time, and was included in Robert Dimery's book1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
The Modern Lovers were formed in 1970 by teenage singer, songwriter, and guitaristJonathan Richman. In early 1971, the band's membership was settled as Richman,Jerry Harrison (keyboards), Ernie Brooks (bass) andDavid Robinson (drums), with Richman's friend and original band memberJohn Felice joining them occasionally as his school commitments allowed. By the autumn of 1971, through their live performances in Boston and New York, they had begun to attract the attention of several record companyA&R men, including Stuart Love atWarner Brothers, andAllan Mason andMatthew Kaufman atA&M. The band made their first recordings for Warner Brothers at the Intermedia Studios in Boston in late 1971; these included the version of "Hospital" which was later to feature on the album.[5]
In April 1972, the Modern Lovers travelled toLos Angeles where they held two demo sessions; the first was produced for Warner Brothers byJohn Cale, formerly ofthe Velvet Underground, while the second was produced byAllan Mason and Robert Appère for A&M. Both sets of sessions yielded tracks which, although originally recorded as demos, eventually found their way onto the album. The Cale sessions produced "Roadrunner", "Astral Plane", "Old World", "Pablo Picasso", "She Cracked" and "Someone I Care About". The A&M sessions yielded "Girl Friend", "Modern World" and "Dignified and Old" (which, although not included on the original LP, was included on later CD reissues).[5]
However, the band were initially undecided over which record company to sign for, returned to Boston, and also did some recordings organised byKim Fowley and produced by Stuart "Dinky" Dawson.[6] Eventually, in early 1973, they signed with Warner Brothers and agreed that John Cale should produce their debut album. In the meantime, they undertook a short residency at a hotel inBermuda. Returning to California in the summer to work with Cale, it became apparent both that there were personality clashes between some of the band members, and that Richman now wanted to take a different approach to his songs - much more mellow and easy-paced rather than the earlier aggressive hard rock. The sessions with Cale were terminated before any new recordings were completed. Warner Brothers then engaged Kim Fowley to work with the band, but by this time Richman refused to perform some of his most popular earlier songs live. The band were also affected by the death during the sessions of their friendGram Parsons: on the day before Parsons' death, he and Richman had playedminiature golf and discussed recording together.[7] The sessions with Fowley were aborted, although two tracks, "I'm Straight" and the original recording of "Government Center", and possibly others, were later issued on CD versions ofThe Modern Lovers. Warner Brothers withdrew support from the band, and, early in 1974, the original Modern Lovers split up.[5]
In late 1974, Richman signed as a solo artist withMatthew "King" Kaufman's new label, "Home of the Hits", soon to be renamedBeserkley Records, and recorded four tracks with backing by the bandsEarth Quake andThe Rubinoos, including new versions of both "Roadrunner" and "Government Center". These tracks were first issued as singles, and then on an albumBeserkley Chartbusters Vol.1 in 1975. In 1976, with a new line-up of the Modern Lovers, Richman began recording what he went on to regard as his debut album,Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers.[5]
However, in the meantime, Kaufman also put together the albumThe Modern Lovers from remixed versions of the tracks recorded four or more years earlier for Warner Brothers and A&M, and released it in August 1976. "Hospital" was credited as being "donated by Jerry Harrison" because he possessed the original 1971 session tapes.[8]
The 1986 Beserkley reissue of the album added "I'm Straight" from the 1973 Fowley sessions. The 1989compact disc reissue onRhino Records added "Government Center", also from the Fowley sessions, and "Dignified and Old" from the 1972 A&M demo recordings. Kaufman was credited as producer of "I'm Straight" and "Government Center" which were originally issued on Warners'Troublemakers compilation in 1980.[8]
Further bonus tracks were added on a 2003 remastered reissue onSanctuary Records: "I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms" and "Dance With Me" (recorded at the 1973 and 1972 demos with Fowley, respectively); and alternative versions of "Roadrunner", "Someone I Care About" and "Modern World" (the first two being from the 1971 Intermedia sessions in Boston, and the last one from the 1972 Fowley demos). This 17-track version of the album was released in the US for the first time onCastle Records in 2007.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [9] |
| Blender | [10] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A[11] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
| Pitchfork | 9.2/10[13] |
| PopMatters | 10/10[14] |
| Q | [15] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
| Select | 5/5[17] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[18] |
The Modern Lovers was immediately given an enthusiastic critical reception, with critic Ira Robbins ofTrouser Press hailing it as "one of the truly greatart rock albums of all time".[3]Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice felt that Jonathan Richman was deserving of his "critics' darling" status and stated that "by cutting through the vaguely protesty ambience of so-called rock culture he opens the way for a worldliness that is specific, realistic, and genuinely critical."[19]
In a retrospective write-up forAllMusic,Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that "the combination of musical simplicity, drivingrock & roll, and gawky emotional confessions makesThe Modern Lovers one of the most startlingproto-punk records—it strips rock & roll to its core and establishes the rock tradition of the geeky, awkward social outcast venting his frustrations."[9]
The Modern Lovers influenced numerous aspiringpunk rock musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including theSex Pistols, whose early cover of "Roadrunner" was placed onThe Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. In the UK, the versions of "Roadrunner" produced by Cale and Kaufman were released as two sides of a single, which became a chart hit in 1977.[20]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 381 onRolling Stone magazine's list ofthe 500 greatest albums of all time,[21] 382 in 2012,[22] and 288 in 2020.[23]
In 2006, the album was included in Robert Dimery's1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[24]
All songs written byJonathan Richman, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Roadrunner" | 4:04 |
| 2. | "Astral Plane" | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Old World" | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Pablo Picasso" | 4:15 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She Cracked" | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Hospital" | 5:31 |
| 3. | "Someone I Care About" | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Girl Friend" | 3:51 |
| 5. | "Modern World" | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 34:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Straight" (Fowley sessions, October 1973) | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Dignified & Old" (A&M sessions, April 1972) | 2:29 |
| 3. | "Government Center" (Fowley sessions, October 1973) | 2:03 |
| Total length: | 41:38 | |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dignified & Old" (A&M sessions, April 1972) | 2:29 | |
| 2. | "I'm Straight" (Fowley sessions, October 1973) | 4:18 | |
| 3. | "Government Center" (Fowley sessions, October 1973) | 2:03 | |
| 4. | "I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms" (Fowley sessions, October 1973) | Richman,James Osterberg | 2:32 |
| 5. | "Dance With Me" (Fowley sessions, October 1973) | 4:26 | |
| 6. | "Someone I Care About (Alternative Version)" (September 1971) | 2:58 | |
| 7. | "Modern World (Alternative Version)" (Fowley demo, 1972) | 3:16 | |
| 8. | "Roadrunner (Alternative Version)" (September 1971) | 4:55 | |
| Total length: | 61:48 | ||
*Previously released onTroublemakers (1980)
**Previously released onThe Original Modern Lovers (1981)
The Modern Lovers
Technical
