Extra track on ‘The Snake King’ CD

When I originally heard “The Snake King” last week it was through the Soundcloud premiere by Billboard. Then I listened to some songs individually on Alexa, streaming from Amazon in my kitchen – purposely passing on the real depressing ones since my kids were nearby. Last night I picked up the actual CD from Best Buy and today played it while I was getting some work done. For today’s listen, I wasn’t trying to analyze the lyrics but just listening as a casual listener. The verdict? It is SO FREAKING INCREDIBLE!

It really is. The songs are so catchy and the music has so many layers. When I was a kid, my parents had the “Jesus Christ Superstar” record and I used to dance around singing it in the living room. Since our family is Jewish, I always thought it was a little weird that my parents even had that record, but the music was so good and fun to sing. This kind of reminds me of that, a bluesy version. It’s telling a story and the topics aren’t something I would normally choose to listen to, but the songs are amazing.

“Suicide Manifesto” is still just as depressing though, because once you know that that was how RS was thinking last year, it’s hard to move past that. But if “The Snake King” were to be made into a rock opera, there could be a character representing a human on Earth who is affected by the work of “The Snake King” and that could be that character’s song. I’m not sure yet what the overall story would be, but I think there may be something there.

Anyway, right after the last song listed on the CD “Orpheus in the Underworld,” there’s another song that’s not listed: “Goodbye, St. Paul.” The song is listed on the Japanese import CD, but apparently it’s a hidden track on the U.S. version.

It’s also cool to see all the different instruments listed in the CD booklet that were used in the songs: electric and electric slide guitars, acoustic guitar, harmonica, electric piano, synth horns, bouzouki, violin, viola, Dobro, mandolin, banjo and ukulele. In addition to his touring band, there are familiar names listed, such as Jeff Silverman and Tim Pierce (both who he used to perform with) and Jimmy Z (who played sax on “Bop ‘Til You Drop.”) Were the typos on the “Suicide Manifesto” credits intentional? A kind of “I don’t care” message for that song or is a typo just a typo?

There’s also a picture of him and his mom and their dog (Elvis?) in the CD booklet and a little tribute to her.

The big day

Today’s the day: The release of “The Snake King.” With Rick Springfield being everywhere on my news feeds, it feels like the whole world should be aware of this by now. Between the live feed at the Grammy Museum and all the interviews, it’s been a fun few days! Tonight’s the launch party release. What a great way to celebrate Australia Day!

Here’s the new video for “Land of the Blind,” which was also released today:

Update later tonight:

Yay, got to go to the CD release party after all, thanks to a live-stream on Facebook of the performance! The songs sound SO great live. Such an incredible band. And that saxophone, wow! 🐍👑

First impression of ‘The Snake King’

Wow, I wasn’t expecting to be able to hear the whole CD today so it was a nice surprise that it premiered on Billboard.com this morning. I had to get through my list of things to do for work before I could sit down with this. I didn’t want to just stick it on in the background, but wanted to really listen. Here are my first impressions of the songs.

(Not that I think anyone really cares what my first impressions are or that they really matter to anyone but since this blog is like my journal of all things Rick Springfield, I am recording them here.)

In the Land of the Blind: Hi, Matty (the voice at the beginning, I’m pretty sure). Great start to the album. Has a catchy, upbeat vibe. I liked it the first time I heard him play it last week and I still like it. I like the ooh- la-la-las. Interesting concept about how the one-eyed man is king in the land of the blind. From a previous post: “In the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is king” is a quote attributed to Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch philosopher, humanist and theologian and is explained online as “If surrounded by people less capable or able, someone who would not normally be considered special can shine.” (NOTE FROM JULY 23: Just found out in an interview that the voice at the beginning is Mark Lennon, who did some background vocals on the album.)

The Devil That You Know: Here’s the “I know what you want’ phrase from the guitar pics thrown out in the audience last year. Another really catchy tune, makes me feel like dancing. Biblical references, I can’t wait until I get the lyric sheet so I can look at the lyrics more carefully.

Little Demon: Such a familiar song already. Incredible guitar. As I said in a previous post, it sounds like another unrequited love/lust song but who is it about? We may likely never know because he said in interviews that he doesn’t know. I especially like the second part of the song, it’s so expressive and beautiful. I picture driving out on an open road in the desert. Not sure yet about what the “Hey, guess whose got a new boyfriend” at the end and the devil’s roar is about. Is it that the devil is popular with the ladies because they don’t know who he really is?

Judas Tree: One song after another sounds SO good musically. This sounds the most like the blues to me so far. These lyrics are pretty disturbing, very graphic. I don’t think I’ll be singing along to this one.

Jesus was an Atheist: This song we’ve heard live before over the past week so it’s interesting with all these added sounds. I think it’s an interesting approach to have it written with the viewpoint of someone who was a friend of Jesus. Did people consider him a “son of G-d” during his life or was it only after he died? I don’t know. I’m not Christian, but I thought he was raised Jewish, which the reference in the song alludes to (“in Temple back in Roman Palestine”). It made me think of a person who becomes famous and their childhood friends are like “Oh him? What’s the big deal?” because they knew him or her as a kid. Of course when you add religion to the mix though, it’s a much more sensitive issue.

The Snake King: There’s the roar again. This song has a similar sound to “Miss Mayhem”on “Rocket Science.” Maybe “The Snake King” can be turned into a rock opera similar to The Who’s “Tommy.” This song is where they introduce the main character, “The Snake King.” RS is performing with a symphony orchestra these days so maybe a rock opera is next? Since he has experience both with EFX and as portraying Lucifer, he can star in it.

G-d Don’t Care: The opening sounds like the sound from a concert. He’s said in interviews that he often wonders where G-d is these days with all these horrible things happening in the world. The song also reflects some childhood experiences of “Little Ricky.” A very sad song. Hopefully he won’t ask fans to sing out loud if he plays this in concert like he did for “I Hate Myself.” This song definitely fits into the rock opera idea because this would be the devil singing to the masses.

The Voodoo House: These sounds before all the songs definitely give it a very theatrical feeling. I really like this song, such great sounds and so catchy. That Rick Springfield, he sure has great hooks. As I mentioned in a previous post, it sounds like another unrequited love/lust song, but this time addressing it with a voodoo doll concept. I like the hey-ya-hey-ya-ho hey-ya-hey-ya-ho’s.

Suicide Manifesto: This song had a physical effect on me – I literally felt heavy and drained after listening to it. It’s heartbreaking that he feels that way and that so many experience these feelings. It made me think of my sons and pray that they will never have those feelings.

Blues for the Disillusioned: Still reeling from the previous song so these lyrics sound really cynical and depressing. But what incredible lyrics. It’s hard to get it all at the first listen, but lots going on here, both lyrically and musically.

Santa is an Anagram: Now I can see why this song was placed here for comedic relief. A Chuck Berry sound with a Lucifer perspective.

Orpheus in the Underworld: This song, more than 10 minutes long, has a Bob Dylan vibe to it, with the sound, length and lyrics. Although it’s difficult to process all that’s happening here on the first listen, I look forward to delving deeper into this one, too.

So there you have it, “The Snake King.” So impressive, RS. WOW. Glad you’re getting so much great recognition for this one. I’m looking forward to learning what other fans think about it, too.

Here’s the link to “Rick Springfield shares provocative blues album” (exclusive premiere)

(There was also a great podcast that went live today: “Rock Solid” with Pat Francis – a great in-depth interview by a big RS fan.)

Stop everything, it’s a live feed from the Grammy Museum

What a great night!!! OK, so the kids fought a lot and the bedtime routine sucked but the evening ended with a live (Facebook livestream) Rick Springfield interview/concert at The Grammy Museum.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever coordinated that live feed. It’s been about 18 months since I was at a RS concert and this was almost like being there. (I was inside the museum in November last year and looked at the door of the theater at the museum and wondered if RS would ever play there, so it’s a same place/wrong time situation).

So many thoughts rushing around in my head that I may not make any sense, but here goes:

I can’t wait to hear “The Snake King” in its entirety. Tonight he played “Little Demon,” which I’ve already listened to countless times; “Land of the Blind” which sounds great; and “The Voodoo House,” which is my favorite so far. It’s funny that he says he doesn’t really know what they’re about. Is that true? I know that when I write songs, they kind of develop as they go and there’s often not an intentional planning so I get what he’s saying about songs writing themselves, but does he really not know or does he just want people to interpret them on their own? (Or does he just not want to repeat the same story over and over again in future interviews like he does with “Jessie’s Girl”?) Here are my guesses: “Little Demon” – unrequited love (or lust). “The Voodoo House” – unrequited love (or lust) and attempting to fulfill it through use of a voodoo doll? Maybe? “Land of the Blind” – no clue, but there are some biblical references there to explore. I’m glad that there’s a lyric book available.

I love how candid he is in his interviews. Not planned and polished, just goes with it and doesn’t seem to care about what people may think about what he thinks of things. It was true in his autobiography and it continues today in interviews. In a world of Photoshop and filters, it’s refreshing to have someone be so real. And it’s not unfiltered in a mean way, like anonymous comments on an online newspaper article or a rude tweet – it’s unfiltered but in a way that makes him still seem like a good guy. Plus he has such a great sense of humor.

Little things like him dropping his guitar pick during the interview in the Pulse Studio and needing to tune his guitar tonight and during an earlier interview are endearing. I go to these song workshops where you bring a song you’re working on and you receive feedback from professional songwriters. Until recently I would bring a CD that I recorded at home because I worried that if I played it live I might forget the chords or the words or drop my guitar pic or have to tune my guitar at the last minute. But now that I’ve seen RS do all of these things – and he’s a pro – then it makes those things less of a big deal. I find the whole story of his career so inspiring, all the ups and downs and how he persevered through it all. I’m glad that his stained glass master career path idea didn’t work out.

I think listening to “Suicide Manifesto” is going to be really, really difficult, knowing that’s how he sometimes feels. I also think it will be important to listen to it to be able to understand how people who are going through depression may feel.

It was interesting to see all the comments on the live stream and to see how so many people feel connected to him. When I was reading the comments as they scrolled by, I realized once again how much about his life is imprinted in my brain. It’s still weird to me that he was such a big part of my teen life (music, concerts, teen magazine articles, posters, diary entries) then totally out of it for more than a decade, besides turning up his songs when I heard them on the radio and then nothing until 1998. Then after 2000 (after four concerts in those three years and one meet-and-greet at a record store), nothing again until 2014. Totally oblivious to all his new music, interviews, etc. for 14 years then BAM, all of a sudden I’m aware of his daily schedule. (As far as touring and promotional interviews, that is.)

How lucky are RS fans that he keeps putting out such great music and that he’s such an incredible songwriter and guitarist? It’s not the first time his songs have had dark undertones (“Misty Water Woman,” “I Hate Myself,” “Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance”) – they’ve been there throughout his career. I think if “The Snake King” would have followed “Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet,” it would have been more of a shock for ’80s fans, but we’re all grown-ups now. We’ve all seen examples of how devastating life can be and oftentimes creative expression comes from pain. And he has been very open about what goes on in his head. As he mentioned in interviews, taking that pain and anger and expressing it creatively is what helps him get through it. Each time he releases a new CD, he’s exposing a personal part of him to the world, just as most artists do, and I appreciate that he is able to transform those feelings into songs. I think true artists don’t create based on what they think people want, they create because it’s something they have to do. Their fans are fans because they enjoy what the artist does and they might not love everything that comes out of the creative process, but the creative process is not a service industry and shouldn’t be based on what a consumer wants.

(Click here for the video.)

 

3 more days until ‘The Snake King’

Three more days until the Jan. 26 release of “The Snake King” and the incredible reviews keep on coming in.

From crypticrock.com:

Through various style shifts and periodic musical evolution, Rick Springfield continues to weather the ever-changing musical landscape on his own terms. He seems to enjoy every bit of his adventure, at least in a musical sense, as exhibited by the sonic spirit that emanates from his every output. Obviously, the Australian singer-guitarist-songwriter does not run out of creative steam and productive ideas that he could transform into any viable musical art form he deemed befitting his personality. …

An artists like Springfield has really nothing to prove to the world anymore, or, in fact, in the first place. After all, he has been making and playing music for almost half a century now; not to mention, his other artistic endeavor which is acting is another streak on his crowning glory. Thus, for the grace of it, he really deserves the accolades and to be in the pantheon of other music greats. The Snake King is another testament of his endurance, prolificacy, and encompassing artistry. CrypticRock gives it 4 out of 5 stars.

From Music and Festival Reviews powered by Ultimate Festival Guide:

So is this a blue album then? Well, sure, it is – in some ways. I mean, the blues is what this record album is based on but it’s not Muddy Waters, so to speak. Hell, it’s not even Jeff Healey or Stevie Ray Vaughn blues. The way I see it, this is a Rick Springfield album with blues influences waved in. Fact is, most of the melodies and arrangements sounds a lot like the Rick Springfield we’re used to – this is as much a pure blues record as Rocket Science was a country album. Sure, it’s more rootsy than what we’re used to and on many songs way more stripped but it’s very easy to recognize Springfield’s very personal way of writing pop melodies and catchy choruses. Some old fans might have to give it a few spins to get it but with an open mind I think that most will be able to embrace this album. Me, I dug it right from the off. A great mix of blues-rock and melodic rock.

On Ramzine.com:

It would be true to say, right at the outset, if you’re a big fan of Rick Springfield and have listened to his music down the years, The Snake Kingis quite likely not the album you’d be expecting from him. …

There is a considerable variety of shades of dark on this new album, and not too many shards of light to be found. Rick said in a recent radio interview, “I’m at the point in my life now where I just wanna record what’s truthful, which is why I made this album”. So, on The Snake King, Rick takes the listener on a journey along a dirty and dusty road into the bluesy side of his music and allows us to share his disillusion with many aspects of the modern world. …

But, overall, what’s really changed is Rick’s desire to use words to convey what he really means and feels, rather than use sugar coating, and for that alone, he deserves our gratitude.

Read the full reviews for their comments on each of the songs. Great stuff!

 

As is the norm right before a big CD release, RS has been on a promotional tour, which is of course fun for fans. In case you missed this week’s shows, here are the links:

Peter Tilden Show on 790ABC:

In this interview he mentions that Jan. 21 marked the 38th anniversary of the first date with his wife. Awwww, so sweet.

Jonesy’s Jukebox – 95.5 KLOS radio show with Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols. This was a cool interview, which included RS and Steve Jones reminiscing about some of their musical idols and jamming together. I had a little Sex Pistols phase in high school, listening to “Nevermind the Bullocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols” very loudly during times of teenage angst. The interview reminded me a little of my 30-year high school reunion in the sense that all these years later, it doesn’t really matter what group you hung out with at high school or what has happened since, it’s just a nice time chatting with people and reminiscing about that stage in your life.

During the interview, he talked about how he was influenced by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, his work with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters for the Sound City documentary and how it’s his wife’s voice saying “It’s just the normal noises in here” on the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers song, “Even the Losers” on “Damn the Torpedoes” from when she was a receptionist at Sound City.

 

Here’s something pretty cool that somebody mentioned on a RS Facebook fan page. Cliff Richard was interviewed in 1984 on Zikk Zakk, a television show in Norway, and here he is talking about some of his favorite American music videos. He talks about Michael Jackson, Howard Jones and Rick Springfield and he mentioned that he was a Rick Springfield fan. The clip ends with the “Human Touch” video. (Coincidentally, it was Howard Jones who opened for RS here in AZ in 2014 – when I met RS and gave him a little note about this blog during a quick meet and greet.)

Songwriting lesson

This past week I had my first songwriting lesson with a new teacher and midway through the lesson, the instructor, who is in his somewhere in his early to mid-40s, was showing me some kind of technical thing that I don’t remember the name of right now and – I kid you not – he tells me, “Rick Springfield does this type of thing a lot.”

He then explained that he’s a big Rick Springfield fan and I told him that I am, too. Then he told me that he’s seen him in concert many times and once RS threw a pic out in the audience and it landed in his drink and he also has a poster signed by RS. He also told me that Rick Springfield has a new CD coming out and he couldn’t wait to hear it. I told him I also couldn’t wait.

I didn’t tell him about this blog, but I did want to mention it here because I thought it was so cool that somebody giving songwriting lessons is throwing some RS moves into his lesson and that this random songwriting teacher that I found on Craigslist is such a big RS fan and I thought you’d appreciate it, too.

Anyway, that’s it – back to the countdown of “The Snake King” – five more days until Jan. 26! And the Rock Solid comedy/music podcast interview that took place in San Francisco this weekend is scheduled to be available here by Thursday, Jan. 25. It sounds like it was a deep interview and different than the usual interviews RS goes through during his pre-CD publicity interviews.

‘In the Land of the Blind’

And here’s the official audio for “The Land of the Blind”! Isn’t this fun?

“In the Land of the Blind, the one-eyed man is king” is a quote attributed to Desiderius Erasmus, a Dutch philosopher, humanist and theologian and is explained online as “If surrounded by people less capable or able, someone who would not normally be considered special can shine.”

What a great song. I may need to do some more Googling to understand the lyrics but I’m diggin’ the music!  One more week until “The Snake King”!

 

 

Fifth ‘Snake King’ song: ‘Voodoo House’

With everything out there in the world trying to compete for our attention, it’s amazing that any of us have anything in common to use as a point of reference. Between all the content available on the Internet, television, radio, apps and on-demand services, not to mention books, movies and things that go on in our little corners of the world, it’s a little overwhelming.

(Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was having a conversation with one of my nieces, who is in her early 20s, and she was dumbfounded that I didn’t recognize any of the big players in her preferred style of music: hip-hop or rave music.)

So it was a nice little surprise yesterday when this blog broke its own record of views for one day – 260.

I know it has nothing to do with me and that it’s because the subject of this blog was on “Good Morning America” – and that doesn’t even come close to reaching a “viral” status – but that’s OK.

What brought so many people to this site after Googling “Rick Springfield” yesterday? Did they swoon over Rick Springfield in high school and when they saw him discussing his depression and his new album yesterday, they wanted to find out what he’s been up to all these decades later? Did they disregard RS’s music years ago and couldn’t believe he has a blues album coming out? Do they suffer from depression and wanted to learn about who Rick Springfield is? Do they love “Jessie’s Girl” and didn’t know anything about the singer and assumed he was a one-hit wonder? (He’s not.)

I don’t know. But if you missed the “Good Morning America” interview, it’s currently on the ABC News website. (And you can see scenes from his new video, “Land of the Blind” in the segment, too!)

Today we got to hear ANOTHER new song from “The Snake King” – “The Voodoo House,” which he debuted on “Harry,” Harry Connick, Jr.’s talk show. That makes the fifth song we’ve heard.

So to recap the songs we’ve heard so far:

“Little Demon”

“Santa is an Anagram”

“Jesus was an Atheist” and “Land of the Blind”

 

And today, on the “Harry” show: “The Voodoo House.” Cool slide guitar! This a a catchy song.

And now we’re nine days away from hearing all of “The Snake King.” What will be next? Perhaps we’ll see the full “Land of the Blind” video before then?

Update on July 18: As of today, “Land of the Blind” is available to listen to if you pre-ordered the digital version of”The Snake King.”

Under a magnifying glass

There’s been a lot of Rick Springfield headlines this past week as we get closer to the Jan. 26 release date of “The Snake King.”

Unfortunately the headlines are not about how this underrated talented musician often pegged as “an ’80s icon” is releasing a new CD – his 19th studio album, with eight of them after the ’80s –  in a different style (blues) and totally rocked it. Besides those written by actual music reviewers, who all have given “The Snake King” wonderful reviews thus far, all the other articles have focused on his recent interview with SirusXM, in which he revealed that he came close to committing suicide last year. Basically many different websites published the same article over and over and over again with different headlines, but all saying the same exact thing.

That was definitely the most shocking part of the interview, especially to fans who have followed his career closely and have recently seen him in concert. It was heartbreaking to hear that his struggles with depression are not just something that he talked about in his 2010 autobiography but something that he is still dealing with today, among his touring (about 100 concerts each year), filming TV shows and interactions with adoring fans.

I think he is brave to talk about it and am impressed that he has such strength to share something so vulnerable and then that weekend was able to return to the stage to give entertaining, rockin’ performances. I hope him sharing his experience will serve as an inspiration to many people who are dealing with depression and that his performances continue to raise his own spirits.

Celebrities are often under a magnifying glass, with the media often focusing on one specific element, which sometimes can be a good thing and other times not, depending on the situation. In this case, the good thing is that acknowledging the impact of depression on his life will increase awareness about the severity of the disease and help those who also suffer it not feel alone. Additionally, it may help others better understand the disease and how it may affect their loved ones.

These past couple of days I’ve been reading articles about Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, who RS referred to in the SirusXM interview. Both of them were such talented singer-songwriters who fought their own battles with depression, often depicted in their song lyrics. So far, we’ve heard a few of the songs of “The Snake King”: “Little Demon,” “Land of the Blind,” “Santa is an Anagram” and “Jesus is an Atheist.” One song title in particular, “Suicide Manifesto,” is what prompted the interviewer of the SiriusXM interview to express concern and led to his revelation about what he was feeling last year when he wrote it – admitting that he was in a dark place.

As I mentioned in the past post, it’s amazing how someone who feels such darkness can bring so much light into the world. Chris Cornell’s children and a variety of musicians and actors recently released a public service announcement about “The Promise” campaign. Cornell wrote and recorded “The Promise” for a film of the same name that addresses Armenian genocide. He donated all the proceeds from the song to the International Rescue Committee, a charity that responds to humanitarian crises by helping to restore health, education and economic well-being to people stricken by conflict. Sadly, he’s not here to see the good work he generated.

Bennington’s band, Linkin Park, did a lot of charity work, raising money for hurricane victims and tsunami victims, as well as for the MusiCares MAP Fund, which helps recovering addicts. Bennington committed suicide on what would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday.  Bennington would have turned 42 this year, on March 20; his widow is planning a birthday tribute for him.

Both of these musicians turned to songwriting to get them through difficult times and those songs helped countless others get through difficult times of their own. Their music will live on.

Although I wish RS didn’t have to deal with “Mr. D” (his depression) at all, I pray that he finds the strength to get through the difficulties that comes along with it. Sure, I hope to hear new music from him and see him in concert again and maybe even have a conversation with him someday, but above all, I just want him to be OK for his own sake and for his family’s sake.

(At least we know he’s happy tonight, as he’s judging a dog show for rescue dogs so he’s getting some dog therapy. The 2018 American Rescue Dog Show will air on the Hallmark channel on Feb. 12.)

 

 

 

A lifetime battle with depression

That was such a candid, heartbreaking interview today on SiriusXM’s Feedback show. It’s amazing that someone who feels such darkness inside brings so much light into the world.

When the interviewer, host Lori Majewski, expressed concern about the lyrics in a song, “Suicide Manifesto,” in his upcoming CD “The Snake King,” Rick Springfield revealed that he came close to committing suicide last year. As his fans know, he has been fighting a lifelong battle with depression, but it still comes as a shock to know that Mr. D (his reference to his depression in his autobiography) still holds him so tightly in his clutches on a regular basis.

The host, who disclosed that she is a longtime fan of Rick Springfield, sounded genuinely concerned by his admission, as I’m sure many of his fans are. He’s brought so much joy to our lives for decades that it’s heartbreaking to know that he suffers so much. As with many writers, writing serves as an outlet so now it’s clear why “The Snake King” has such a dark theme.

He also talked about how important it is for him to be truthful – not to just put up a facade and say he’s doing great, when that’s not the case. I admire his candidness. By being honest with his struggles, he is helping more people than he can even imagine. It’s also a reminder that you never really know what’s going on in a person’s mind.

Here is an interview he did in 2013 as part of The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s Public Information Office’s Emmy Award-winning series, “Profiles of Hope.”

In 2016, he was part of a campaign called “Deconstructing Stigma: A Change in Thought Can Change a Life,” which is a series of photographs and interviews with people from across the United States who have been affected by mental illness. It debuted in December 2016 at Boston’s Logan Airport.

In the exhibit, he says this:

“I talk about my depression and the experiences I have had because I don’t want anyone else to ever feel alone like I did. It is important for people to watch me on stage or on TV and know that I am just like them and that it’s important to be introspective and recognize when you need help.”

As he continues with his busy tour this weekend and prepares for the release of “The Snake King” in a couple of weeks (which has gotten incredible reviews, like this one from The Rockpit), I wish him (and his family) continued strength as he fights this battle.