LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Jonathan Richman has often been called the missing link between the Velvets and punk, and while this may apply to his first album, 1976’s Modern Lovers , it is hard to make that same statement about his later work, which is more like the missing link between punk rock and Sesame Street. Children’s songs like “I’m A Little Airplane” and “Ice Cream Man” make up an unsettlingly large part of his repertoire, but they are also paradoxically some of his greatest moments - and not often found on compilations, which is why this collection is so important. These 20 tracks were compiled from Richman’s Beserkely period and originally appeared on 1976’s seminal Modern Lovers, 1977’s Rock & Roll With The Modern Lovers , Live and Richman’s first solo effort, 1979’s Back In Your Life. In other words this is essential Jonathan!