Now Streaming: S/D/A/A, plus an interview and a theme song

Hi! I hope your 2024 has gone well so far! Thank you to all who have shared videos from recent RS shows, including the Rock Legends Cruise with Sammy Hagar, which wraps up today.

I was excited to hear last week that in honor of its 20th anniversary, “shock/denial/anger/acceptance” (S/D/A/A) was re-released as an expanded edition on streaming platforms. In addition to the original songs from the album, it also includes song demos and the previously unreleased “Hey Josephine.”

When the album first came out 20 years ago, I wasn’t aware of it, as I lost track of his work shortly after “Karma.” I saw him in concert twice in 1999 and again in 2000 and then he dropped off my radar as I adjusted to life in a different city.

It wasn’t until 2014 that I came across an interview he was doing for “Magnificent Vibration” and I eventually learned about his autobiography and all the albums I’d missed during those years. I got “Venus in Overdrive” and “Songs for the End of the World,” as well as his autobiography from the library right away so I read the backstory for S/D/A/A before hearing the album. So when I finally listened to it, it just made me sad. But then when Rowdy Ron had his RS birthday shows, I realized that so many of the songs that caught my attention that I didn’t recognize were from S/D/A/A. Now it’s one of my favorite of his albums.

However, since I don’t listen to music on CDs very often anymore, I haven’t heard it in awhile so I was happy to hear it’s available to stream now and listened to it a lot this past week. I still can’t believe that 2004 is already 20 years ago though. (I just realized this means that when it first came out, RS was the same age I am now – and look how much he’s done since. There’s still hope that it’s possible to accomplish lots of cool things after age 53!)

There are a couple of other things that happened this past week so I thought I’d add them here in case you missed them.

RS was featured in a new YouTube show with Matt and Gregg Bissonette and producer Paul Dexter, where the three of them write a song in one day – and RS records the vocals in his home studio. It’s a lot of fun to watch!

(In case you weren’t aware, Matt Bissonette was the bassist in RS’s band for several years and collaborated on “Venus in Overdrive,” “Songs for the End of the World” and “Rocket Science” and both Bissonette brothers were part of The Red Locusts.)

There was also a great interview this week on NBC’s “The Drink with Kate Snow”: Is there really a ‘Jessie’s Girl’ out there? Rick Springfield on how that song happened.“

Despite the headline, it covers other several other topics, too. She asks some great questions and it was cute to see her surprise when she learned he was from Australia. Plus we learn that he’s working on a script – he’s always surprising his fans!

February milestones

February seems to be a big month for Rick Springfield milestones.

One day in particular stands out:
Feb. 24, 1981: “Working Class Dog” is released
Feb. 24, 1982: RS wins a Grammy for “Jessie’s Girl”
Feb. 24, 2004: “Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance” is released
Feb. 24, 2015: “Stripped Down” is released

Last night Rowdy Ron had an online radio show where he played the full albums of WCD and SDAA, including bonus tracks, in celebration of the milestone. Unfortunately I only caught a few minutes of it, but I’m sure it was a great show!

Other notable dates (courtesy of rickspringfield.us):

Feb. 14, 1945: RS’s parents are married
Feb. 19, 2016: “Rocket Science” is released
Feb. 20, 2016: “iHeart80s Party” at the Forum, which gave him great exposure
Feb. 23, 1981: “Jessie’s Girl” is released as a single

This year also marked the 10th anniversary of his Valentine’s Day weekend show at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, which was covered this month in a great interview in Center Stage Magazine and this nice review in National Rock Review. In the Center Stage interview, he talks about his desire to do more acting and mentions his upcoming tour in Germany with Rock Meets Classic and the review mentions some highlights from the Nashville show:

“Since this is live music, anything can and usually happens. Tonight, mid-way through the opening song, the music suddenly stops, and the faint ring of the fire alarm is heard. Not to be outdone, Rick is out among the fans, shaking hands and fist bumping those around him while the guys break into a jig on stage entertaining fans while the power and fire alarm issues are sorted out.”

After a brief delay, Rick and the guys launching into “Light this Party Up” for the second time and the crowd jumps in on the fun, raising their glasses, dancing, and singing along.”

And this is sweet:

“Slowing down the pace, Rick takes center stage with his green dobro guitar on his knee. He takes a moment to tell a quick story about long-time guitar tech, Ruben Velasco, who died last year. Velasco, who’s birthday was this day, had repeatedly said that Rick needed a light-up guitar. Springfield now plays a light-up guitar on tour which he appropriately named “Ruben.” It was a touching moment and a class move by Rick Springfield.”

Liked this line, too:

“Springfield exudes energy and positive vibes.”

Speaking of articles – and energy- there was some interesting information in a recent one in the Orlando Sentinel in advance of Sunday’s night’s show in Orlando.

“He is working on another novel to follow “Magnificent Vibration,” a 2014 bestseller, but laughs when asked when it will come out.

“It’s like a song. When it’s done, it’s done. You can’t really push it,” he said. “There’s been a lot of stuff that’s come up and gets in the way of it, but I like to do it all.” 

And this is a cool possibility:

He is writing a new record and screenplays. Another possibility is a memoir to follow 2010’s “Late, Late at Night.” “Certainly enough has happened. I was actually thinking about that —  the stuff I didn’t tell you,” he said.

Muse musing

With the new RS album coming out this summer, I wonder how many women there are who are wondering if it will include songs about them – either from actual encounters from long ago or from more recent imagined or misinterpreted interactions.

Does Sylvia of long ago know there’s a song about her? Does “Jessie’s Girl” remember RS from her stained glass class and know that she inspired the Grammy-Award-winning song or was that class just a long-forgotten blip in her life that she never mentioned to anyone?  Does the toxic muse who inspired the Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance album know she was the inspiration?

When I first heard the SDAA album, I didn’t enjoy it at all. I had just read RS’s autobiography and listening to the songs just made me feel incredibly sad. Knowing that it represented such a painful time for him and thinking about his wife having to listen to those songs distracted me from enjoying the music.

It wasn’t until months later when I was listening to Rowdy Ron’s Saturday Night Springfield Special that I heard some of the songs again. Over and over again, I thought, “Wow, what a great song! What album is that from?!” and pretty much every time, it turned out to be from SDAA. “Beautiful You,” “Will I?” “Wasted” “I’ll Make You Happy” are among my favorite RS songs now. (By the way, Rowdy Ron is planning another Springfield Special  this weekend, which means several hours of RS music.)

I especially like when I find out that a song was inspired by his wife because that is just so cool that she has brought out such inspiration in him for all these years.

Anyway, just waiting for the new album to come out to hear the new songs. One new song – “Light This Party Up”  was posted on his Facebook page, a short video from a Club Med concert. Another video – him playing part of his new song “Walking In” – was also on Facebook for a few days, but for some reason it disappeared from my news feed. I really liked that one and have found myself singing it often, although I’m not sure if I have all the lyrics right.