Search - Jonathan Richman :: Action Packed: The Best Of Jonathan Richman

Very Good

Rob | Cincinnati, OH | 03/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I, at one point, owned all of Jonathan's Rounder material. "I, Jonathan" is a great album; "Jonathan Goes Country" is better than you would ever imagine. But on all of Jonathan's Rounder albums there are some songs I really feel are not needed. "I, Jonathan" and "Jonathan Goes Country" both contain remakes of some of his better late seventies and early eighties cuts for Beserkly and Sire--"Corner Store" and "That Summer Feeling" for example--which pale in comparison to the originals. What this best of collection does, contrary to some of the other reviewers' opinions here, is give you a very good representation of his best material for Rounder. If you really want a good collection of Jonathan, buy this cd, pick up "Jonathan Sings," and "The Beserkley Years: The Best of." I would hope to God that you would already own "The Modern Lovers.""

"Jonathan, don't get all excited...but I do!! and I am!!"

happydogpotatohead | New Orleans, LA USA | 05/21/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jonathan writes rock and roll songs. They could have been written in the 1950s or 1960s, but there's also a sense of timelessness about them. Like Ray Davies, Jonathan doesn't write about Big Subjects. He writes about everyday clothes, cappucino bars, love, and occasionally Bermuda or Vampire Girls for fun. And like Ray Davies, his focus on the everyday, combined with his big heart, makes him one of the best rock songwriters ever.This is a grand collection of the music he did for Rounder Records. Jonathan sharpened his focus and honed his craft during his time on Rounder, and this terrific selection of songs shows that. Most of the music here is Jonathan as a solo artist ("believe me, it's better that way") putting his heart out there, as open as the sky and beautiful as the moon. The material ranges from the rockin' (Parties in the USA, Dancing In The Lesbian Bar, Fender Stratocaster) to 50s-style country (Reno, The Neighbors) to wistful balladry (The Girl Stands Up To Me Now, You Must Ask The Heart). Every song on here is a gem waiting to be discovered.There's not much any reviewer can say that can match the songs themselves. Jonathan's interviewers and attempted biographers all find a guy who hasn't got much to say about his life or his music. That's because his life is his music, and his music tells you all you need to know about Jonathan. His music is clear and honest and speaks from the heart, and in the final analysis, that's exactly what music is supposed to do. To Jonathan's credit, that's what he's done since the Modern Lovers days, and that's what he says he'll do "until it stops being fun." Let's hope it stays fun for a long, long time."

Good collection...

Rob Damm | 02/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've followed Johnathan Richman's career sporadically over the years, and I'm usually fairly impressed by his albums. In fact, his 2001 "Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eyeshadow" was one of the best releases of the year. But, listening to "Action Packed", hearing many of Johnathan's best songs together on one disc has really made a case for him as one of the most astute cartographers of the human heart. These, like the best love songs, are less about the objects of the singers affection than about the singer *himself*, and the very nature of love *itself*. Whether he's singing about women, guitars, or both, Richman captures like few other songwriters, the intricacies of the human experience.Sure, many will never forgive him for abandoning the thin, dark, minimalist punk he invented with The Modern Lovers LP. Still others will dismiss him as a cheerier Lou Reed, but listen to this disc, and I think you'll find Richman to be very much an original and gifted songwriter and a dazzlingly expressive singer. My only real gripe is the bizarre inclusion of "Monolouge about Bermuda", which is tolerable once, but needs to be skipped thereafter. And how could they leave out the great "Our Swingin' Pad"???Still, good stuff!"