Jonathan Richman
SA
Blue Arrow
Nov 27, 2018 Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman is a metamorphic songwriter, capable of expanding—or squishing—his inconsistent stream of goofy, off putting songwriting and resizing it to fit whatever genre he feels like: sometimes he’s country, other times a punk, but more often than not, he’s a good ol’ fashioned, half-stoned troubadour. Richman’s nearly 50 years of slap-happy birthday-cake rock has been smothered in an amusing breed of sardonicism, but Richman’s never sounded as serious as he does on his latest batch of songs, SA, named after the root note in Indian ragas of Ramakrishna. Here Richman creates droning, minimalist raga, most notably on “O Mind! Just Dance!,” a nearly eight-minute ballad of miniature psychedelia, and “O Mind! Let Us Go Home!,” where both songs prominently feature the tambura, a traditional, sub continental Indian string instrument. SA is a completely erratic and consistently bemusing collection of songs that captures Richman’s warm spirit and objectively one-of-a-kind artistry. (www.jonathanrichman.bandcamp.com)
Author rating: 7.5/10
Average reader rating: 4/10
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October 17th 2020
10:06pm
Man, is this CD a total surprize. I saw Jonathan live with just a drummer a few years ago but on here he experiences with folk and Indian raga music to make a pleasant fusion, and his nearly childish playful demeanor give the songs an even greater pleasure than previous releases. This is one of his greatest albums ever, hands down.