If I Were A Richman

The If I Were a Richman CD tribute to Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers from the passionate Wampus Multimedia label features 14 tracks by bands you've probably never heard about. That's half the fun for those enamored of Richman's innovative attitude: reverent renditions that honor the underground minstrel's legacy...but fail to add to it. Fee Foe 5 blast through a quick "Someone I Care About" to begin the festivities, while Arms of Kismet do a keyboard-less Doors take on "Pablo Picasso." Where the inclusion of a John Cale cover of this tune originally produced for record by that legend would have given the CD some visibility for the marquee, there's no denying Arms of Kismet do a fine job breathing some eeriness and mystery into a song overplayed in the netherworld where these compositions thrive. It is probably the best track here, because it gives that chestnut a new perspective. The Underhills don't fare as well with "Government Center"; their color-by-the-numbers version doesn't reflect Richman's tongue-in-cheek charm. The same goes for the Crowd Scene's "When Harpo Played His Harp" and H.A.R.M.'s "Ice Cream Man." During "Ice Cream Man" there's a typical David Cassidy attempt at playing lead guitar (hear the ex-Partridge Family member fall flat on his The Higher They Climb the Harder They Fall LP to get the drift), and the joke is lost in the translation. Why someone with a high I.Q. like Jonathan Richman would hide his Einstein intuition under an Alfred E. Newman from Mad Magazine cloak is an eternal rock & roll question. Beeky's "I'm a Little Airplane" has the opportunity to answer that question, but doesn't. By playing the nursery-school game Richman perpetrated on his fandom, the laugh is on the groups that stay faithful to his insolence. Blasting "Sister Ray" chords under this sandbox silliness is the jolt the material cries out for.
Geoff P. Russell's Inhibition Exposition give evidence here why they will remain in obscurity; "Hey There Little Insect" sounds like Jeff Goldblum in a science-fiction experiment gone bad, singing this while he's turning into The Fly. It's demented enough, but then again, so is the Modern Lovers' original. It gets very interesting about three and a half minutes in, but by the time the final minute hits that interest has waned. Now had the entire take worked itself around this rendition's conclusion -- boy -- it would have been so special. While James Taylor was able to craft "Fire and Rain" from his stay in a mental institution (a situation recalling other notable Boston acts that will not be mentioned here), Frumious Snacktime come off like they've already been committed to the straitjacket while involved with the one cover on this collection, Byrd/Gray's "Buzz Buzz Buzz." And speaking of "straight," Space Robot Scientists totally miss the point of that once obscure Modern Lovers gem, "I'm Straight." Richman had stolen Alice Cooper's E minor and C chord progression from "I'm 18" in some weird sexual identity crisis disguised as the fact that Jo Jo didn't do drugs. The shuffle here doesn't reflect the angst...or the confusion. Early Lines (not an early version of Boston's mainstream band the Lines) whip through "Modern World" with limited success. It's not that this compilation isn't fun -- taking on such exotic material can't help but be -- but without an additional catch (say, having bands from the New England region give their perspective or employing other cult figures like Andy Pratt, Willie Alexander, and/or Doug Yule to put their stamp on a colleague's adventures), there's little reason other than curiosity to spin this more than a few times. The Young Adults don't add to "She Cracked" and, like some of the other groups, do their best to imitate Richman. Now had Wampus re-formed Aimee Mann's the Young Snakes, there would be great interest in hearing how she, an underground superstar, would interpret another underground superstar. Microwave Orphans, Kowtow Popof, and Wampeters do well on their respective re-creations of "Dignified and Old," "Lonely Financial Zone," and "Twilight in Boston," better than many on this disc, but something is missing. As Jonathan Richman's career sustained itself off the classic blast generated by the first album, something more was needed to make this effort special. Interesting? Yes. Essential? Well...let's say adequate. ~ Joe Viglione