Taking a breather from the retrospective nature of Listening Posts (and the redundant nature of the Van Halen Brothers Masturbation Projects), I got a note today that there was a new Rick Springfield album released (thanks, Mr. Orwell, I mean, iTunes!).
If you know me, you know that I am a Springfield fanatic. I came to him late, which is sort of a theme of mine. I was actually buying my girlfriend a vinyl copy of Working Class Dog (mocking the whole way) and spent an afternoon listening and saying, "WTF? This is great!".
Since then I have collected every album of Rick's on vinyl, save Sahara Snow & Anger....which are on CD.
This is the first ephemeral only Rick purchase. So, when I want to share it with my daughter, I will be hauling out an external hard drive and saying, "THIS is my music collection, behold the....abstract disposable, intangible nothingness!"
Is Venus in Overdrive good?
It's a shitload better than that crapfest album of covers he did a couple years ago, that's for sure.
And it's an interesting companion piece to Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance. Where that album took the dense depression that was Rick's wheelhouse in the late 90s and early aughts and melded it to a thick power pop conceit, ViO is much more acceptable.
In a way, Venus bridges the gap between Jessie's Girl and Beautiful You. Rick is accessible again, visiting the same pop hookiness (and mining his own sound in the process) of the former and melding it with an elder statesman viewpoint.
Much of it sounds like he listened to too much Jimmy Eat World but, that's okay, because I like Jimmy Eat World.
She is as good a John Lennon song as anyone has ever mimicked (and without anything new, it's nice to have someone besides Utopia to ape the sound), it actually kind of reminds me of The Monkees' Porpoise Song.
Allmusic is pretty dead on when they say that Mr. PC is a dynamite Foo Fighters tune, but I think it's got a little more teeth than Mr. Grohl can muster.
I feel bad for Rick, to be honest. He's a good little popsmith who is pigeonholed as a nostalgia act. His appeal is limited, perhaps by age, perhaps by his dedication to a song style that no one seems to be interested in anymore. it's kind of a shame. The same thing is sort of happening to REM.
I'm not sure anyone will buy this album that isn't already a fan, so Rick is preaching to a pretty devout choir. I have to wonder if there is anything to get new fans to buy this, though. I wish they would. The world needs a little Power Pop.
Buy Venus in Overdrive
Grade B+
A Side: Victoria's Secret
Blindside: 3 Warning Shots & Mr. PC
Downside: God Blinked (Swing it Sister) [late model Adam Ant quasi-neurotic angular dance music.]
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