Jonathan Richman - "I Must Be King" (1990 Rounder Records)
w Jonathan Richman; from Jonathan Goes Country, Rounder Records – ROUNDER CD 9024
Jonathan Richman, best known for his 1970s' Proto-Punk group The Modern Lovers, recorded this sappiest of love songs for his solo album Jonathan Goes Country. And indeed, this as about as Country as you can get, both in terms of songwriting (although overt incest is less common than the uninitiated might think) and instrumentation. Apparently Tom Brumley of Buck Owens' Buckaroos and other Country & Western fame even plays steel guitar on the album.
Songs like "I Must Be King", I say with great affection, are why I'm so out of touch with reality...that and TV sitcom families. Would that such a partnership, a perfect communion, a more perfect union, could exist in our natural world. But alas...
Anyhow I really only know Jonathan Richman from "New England", "Roadrunner" (cause it was in School of Rock), and this Andy Kaufmanesque performance from Conan, so please correct me if I'm wrong in pronouncing his name like you'd say Batman or Duffman...
I love "You're Crazy for Taking the Bus" as it happens, which is from Jonathan Goes Country as well. The whole album's not a bad place to start if you want to get into Country or Country Rock (or "Classic" varieties of either, I should say). Comparisons to the works of Country Rock pioneer Gram Parsons are also inevitable...but more on him another day probably. Other than that...
Also Check Out:
By Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers:
"New England" - YouTube | Spotify
By Buck Owens & His Buckaroos:
"Under Your Spell Again" - YouTube | Spotify
"Gonna Roll Out the Red Carpet" - YouTube | Spotify
By the International Submarine Band (Gram Parsons):
