Released by: Frontiers
Release date: 19 February 2016
Genre: Hard Rock
Links: rickspringfield.com , Facebook
Lineup:
Rick Springfield – Vocals, Guitar
Siggy Sjursen – Bass
Jorge Palacios – Drums
Tim Gross – Keyboard, Guitar
George Nastos – Lead Guitar
Track Listing:
01. Light This Party Up
02. Down
03. That One
04. The Best Damn Thing
05. Miss Mayhem
06. Pay It Forward
07. Found
08. Crowded Solitude
09. Let Me In
10. All Hands on Deck
11. We Connect
12. (I Wish I Had A) Concrete Heart
13. Earth to Angel
*1 Extra track only available on iTunes version: Beautiful Inside
*2 Extra tracks only available on BestBuy version: Mercy, Walkin’ In
Rick Springfield. If you know that name it either strikes memories of Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital or from his big music hit in the early 80’s with “Jessie’s Girl.” I don’t care about the whole acting aspect as soap opera’s aren’t my thing, but since hearing that instantly memorable song all those years ago I became a fan of his music. I didn’t follow his releases early on, but I have more than caught up and freely admit to being a fan of this, admittedly, unlikely performer from my normal fare. But really, most of his albums fall nicely into that melodic rock sound I love dearly, so it makes more sense than you think.
His new album, Rocket Science, is his 18th studio album since 1972 (bet you didn’t know he’d been making music that long, unless you’re a fan.) One of the many things I love about his music is his instantly recognizable voice, playful and quirky lyrics, and a keen sense of pop and melody that has kept me a fan for ages. All of these elements are prevalent on the new album, but (and I hate that there’s a but,) it veers a little to much into the pop country territory. I am not a fan of country at all, though if I was going to listen to it I’d rather listen to real country instead of the pop version of it. Before you get all out of hinge though, it’s not like he’s gone all Luke Bryan here. There are some chicken pickin’ style guitar licks and some steel pedal guitar, but the Aussie hasn’t gone full blown redneck (not even city boy trying to be redneck.) In fact, had he inflected more of a harder edge as he has in the past instead of this I probably would’ve loved the album much more than I did. I don’t hate it, but it is definitely not my favorite of his albums. For every track like “Light This Party Up,” “The Best Damn Thing,” and “We Connect” that have that up tempo rock flare he is known for are the forays into a different territory with tracks like “That One,” “Pay It Forward,” and “Found” that get too Southern for my tastes. I was intrigued by the Civil War era sounding “All Hands On Deck,” paying hommage to Patriotism and soldiers, even if it owes more to the song “Rocky Top” than it might realize.
I don’t hate Rocket Science. It’s actually pretty good even with the twang, but I hope that this isn’t a direction Rick is heading towards on a permanent basis, as I will be greatly disappointed. He’s still an immensely talented performer and writer as evidenced on this album; it just doesn’t work for me on all levels. Had the country stuff been considerably less (or gone) I would’ve rated this one much higher. Perhaps it will grow on me over time, but after multiple listens I’m just not loving it as much as I had hoped I would.
Written by: Chris Martin
Ratings: Chris 8/10
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