The Modern Lovers

Spotify was playing one song after another, and it was not entertaining, so I tuned out. Then, out of nowhere I hear this decent song and it brought me back. It had a good beat, catchy lyrics, and I was engaged. When I looked-up the song, I realized Spotify had switched to a different band and song.

John Cale leaving The Velvet Underground to produce for The Modern Lovers was a great move. Much more upbeat band with some great grungy rock songs. Comes out hitting the road with shout outs to Mass. Keeps cruising on Side A with all good one..."Someone to Care About" is best on B Side. There are some remnants of those days living Underground though, particularly on "Hospital" which is worst on the album. Got a Stranglers vibe which is positive in my book. I dig this debut at 3.11 stars...enough to add some tracks to my faves list and listen to the extended reissue version.

70s art rock. Great energy.

This album tails off, but “Roadrunner” right out of the chutes is like having a rocket strapped your ass. Such a great road trip song.

Slackery, stonery, lo-fi brilliance.

Perfect album and you lack creativity if you disagree

Listening to this reminds me of sitting through weak openers, waiting for the band that you really want to hear. Five songs are enough. Move on.

I thought the first track was fun (I bet especially in 1976!), but it went downhill for me after that.

Unimpeachable classic imo so not surprised to see the extremely mixed reaction on here!

This was a good/easy listen. 50s style rock pop recreated with a 70s swagger. A punk rock approach but not very rough around the edges made it interesting. Also felt like the album got darker as it went on… I need more listens here.

This is one of the albums of all time

Can’t see myself revisiting this

it's just kinda out there man

So inspiring how so many of these 70s bands didn't keep their lack of vocal talent from pursuing their dreams anyways. Please, random generator, give me something from another decade tomorrow.

1976 -- debut album -- proto-punk / garage rock / art rock -- immediate enthusiastic critical reception; originated in Natick MA ("Roadrunner" about falling in love in MA) -- another band (like Oasis) where multiple recordings of the debut went poorly; they were friends with Gram Parsons (Byrds/FBBs) who passed during the process; "one of the truly great art rock albums of all time"; "by cutting through the vaguely protesty ambience of so-called rock culture he opens the way for a worldliness that is specific, realistic, and genuinely critical"; "musical simplicity, driving rock & roll, and gawky emotional confessions makes The Modern Lovers one of the most startling proto-punk records—it strips rock & roll to its core and establishes the rock tradition of the geeky, awkward social outcast venting his frustrations." white guys making best-of lists LOVE this fucking sound. whiny guys and guitars. on another day i might enjoy it but i have had album after album of this for 2 weeks and i am deeply over it right now. don't even care that they hail from my home state.

All it ever heard previously was the first track; the rest of the album was just as good.

The album cover is simple and creative. Its great for what this album is. This album though, blends heavily into the other rock albums on this list. Nothing here jumps out as special, in particular the singer. Just super generic, nothing terrible but nothing great. "Roadrunner" is a good start, and the lyrics are not too bad throughout this album. Overall this whole album oozes a 50%, which to me is a 3. Best Song: Roadrunner. Worst Song: Pablo Picasso.

Every song starts with some low-effort singing and, somehow, ends with even less effort. It always devolves into mumbles about nothing. Masked as a progressive punk rock record, The Modern Lovers gets away with everything unacceptable. However, I must acknowledge its few good songs and decent instrumentals. "Roadrunner" is a song that, while plagued by the lead singer's voice, avoids many of the mistakes of the other songs. "Astral Plane" is similar but slightly worse. The rest of the songs are grumble slop.

This definitely filled in a hole in my music knowledge. I was passing familiar with Roadrunner, but that's about it. So delving into this album was educational. I think I would have loved this album if I had experienced it in h.s. or college. Now it felt more like filling in a gap. I did enjoy it, but would have enjoyed it more if I was younger and all emotiony. It will be staying on my playlist for awhile though.

There was enough creativity and energy to keep this interesting, but I have never been keen on the “too cool for school” drawling vocal style. A little bit Lou Reed, probably influencing The Strokes much later down the line, it’s got its place and it does give a good laidback vibe but I just find it wearing across a whole album.

Roadrunner is OK. The rest disappointing.

80

I liked the upbeat tracks in this record, but I couldn't say the same for the slower songs. Favourite Track(s): Pablo Picasso, Modern World Least Favourite Track(s): Someone I Care About, Hospital, She Cracked, Girl Friend

I am a big Talking Heads fan, but never checked this album out. It is cool to hear what Jerry Harrison was up to before joining, and I think his organ/keyboard or whatever he is playing is one of the standout elements to this album. This is some really solid protopunk, and you can really hear John Cale's influence all over this album. A lot of really simple songs, but they all sound really good. High 4.

Believe it or not, I remember a time before FM radio - and so do The Modern Lovers. They did a great job of capturing the garage rock sound of the Boston music scene in the seventies (because they were on the front end of it.) I also remember Roadrunner which got some minor radio play because it was local. Didn’t recognize any of the other songs, but all listenable although somewhat similar by the end of the experience. Even though I’ve never heard this album, it brought me back to Boston area nightclubs in the seventies. Remember the drinking age was 18. (3.25*s) If ya liked this one and want to listen to more from that scene, I’ve got a CD called Mass Ave, but unfortunately no real wayway to play it…

For some reason while listening to The Modern Lovers the term slacker-punk came to mind which seems to describe it. The music is competent but feels like it is intentionally lazy at times as style choice. It's a way to add some character and swagger to the production which works for the most part with this band. I found the keyboard and piano to be the strongest aspect of the music which did help separate it into its own place. Side B picked up a little steam and it ended on a high note with Modern World. The Modern Lovers did enough to keep me interested through its playtime, but I had no interest in any extra songs or alternate versions. Slightly above average album, not bad. 2.66 stars

Проходняк, ничего запоминающегося

I’m sure this was wildly influential for some stuff that I enjoy. But it’s a snooze fest and I just couldn’t lock in and enjoy a majority of these tracks.

Fine. Nothing to love or hate.

Roadrunner, roadrunner! We will see if this stands out apart, asides from the legendary intro track of course. After listening to this it's definitely good, probably deserving 3.5 on RYM but I won't be so generous here I reckon and round it down to 3 stars, still an album worth your time.

5/10. It's 50% decent and 50% meh.

Really fun!

It was not terrible but no song was over the top for me.

I'm back, bitch, and this album still fuckin sucks. Eat my ass from the back you fuck.

ugh

Roadrunner is a great song and I was looking forward to hearing what else the Modern Lovers had up their collective sleeves. A couple of OK moments interspersed with some self-indulgent twaddle.

That's a no from me dog

Pablo Picasso is an asshole. 3/5

It was okay but kind of boring and extremely dated

This is a weird album to review. I will start by saying I love it, but they call it their debut album even though all the songs were written around five years before it was released, by which time the band had already split up. They used a couple of different producers while trying to secure a label, including John Cale of the great Velvet Underground. You can hear his influence on some of the songs—they have that walking bass, feedback, and jangly guitar work. It's a great proto-punk album that gives you a real feel for how it influenced the coming punk explosion. I was familiar with a couple of songs like 'Pablo Picasso,' so I knew what I was getting into. Then you put the album on and get thrown right into the cool punk groove of 'Roadrunner,' transition into 'Astral Plane,' hit the highlight track 'Hospital,' and later finish strong with 'Girlfriend' and 'Modern World.' I am just blown away. I know Jonathan Richman's vocals aren't going to win any awards, but they fit right in with the 'I don't give a shit' aesthetic of the album. This is a real strong 4 almost 5 stars for me.

Ok

O problema deve ter sido a expectativa que coloquei nesse álbum. Esperava algo muito bom e soou apenas mediano aos meus ouvidos. É um disco ok. QoA Vesper.

bit of punk rock? roadrunner is fun

Interesting and unique for its time. A proto-punk record from when punk was already beginning. A singer that speaks or intonates charismatically more than he sings, kind like Lou Reed by way of Iggy Pop. Energetic and rocking, and today that's all I needed. Key tracks: Roadrunner

Interesting listen. Didn’t know that group. It’s a blend of various genres and sounds. 2.5/5 stral Plane: 3 Old World: 3 Pablo Picasso: 2 She Cracked: 3 Hospital: 2 Someone I Care About: 2 Girl Friend: 2 Modern World: 2

3.5? It's not bad, but I wouldn't go back to it

First listen

Favorite Track: Roadrunner

I do not think I like the modern lovers

Decent record for sure, but didn’t really hear much that made me want to think about listening to it again..

Well, this was good, wasn't great. Roadrunner was pretty good, nowhere near the best song on the album though. After Roadrunner, THE ALBUM SUCKED UNTIL HOSPITAL. FOR THAT ENTIRE TIME WISH THE ALBUM DID NOT EXIST. But then Hospital came on and everything was good again like 4 stars but that period between Roadrunner and Hospital makes it a 3. Highlights: Hospital, Someone I Care About, and Modern World Honorable mentions: Dance With Me and Roadrunner 6/10

This is right up there with some of Big Star's albums in terms of "transcendent genius that wasn't as huge as it should have been because reasons." Literally older than me but it still sounds fresh. Almost bought it on vinyl for $49.99 yesterday; might have to go back.

Absolutely loved this album. Keep in it as a favorite ;-)

Not my cup of tea. Lots of sound not a lot of melody

Loved the old school grit in the music and lyrics, although questionable at points

Pretty album with some nice punk/pop songs. Lead singer reminds me of Lou Reed on a few songs.

Lo-fi, but not in a good way. There's way more interesting stripped down stuff out there.

This is alright... Maybe it sounds ahead of its time for 1976 and is more influential than I am able to know, but it wasn't anything incredible to me. Probably won't return to it, but it did have a cool, brooding sound.

Pleasantly bland are the words that come to mind. ★★★

I get how this album and others like it helped with the early transition from the 1970s vibe into the 1980s, but this just isn't my jam

It's alright. Tbh it's really easy to stop paying attention, all the songs kinda blend into one another. I still think there's some decent replay value. I do enjoy Johnathan Richman's singing. P.S. Dance With Me SUCKS. I don't know what exactly is going on in the song, but it made my ears bleed. That might be the worst track I've ever heard.

Might want to put southern man on my song singles list

I've listened to bits of this album over the years and never seen the Doors comparisons until reading the reviews on this app. I assumed this was from the early 80s rather than the late 70s. I'm a fan of the album. It's consistently very good. They're no Doors, but it's very good in its own right

Big Jonathan Richman fan. I know that his voice, and Velvet Underground influenced style of rock poetry - rough, loose, repetitive - aren't for everyone, but he was one of those musicians I just recognised and loved on first encounter. Couple of his best tracks on this album (Roadrunner and Pablo Picasso), but relistening has reminded me how much joy the rest of it brings too.

ended up finding this pretty enjoyable

Roadrunner - 4.5/5 Astral Plane - 4/5 Old World - 4/5 Pablo Picasso - 4/5 She Cracked - 4/5 Hospital - 3.5/5 Someone I Care About - 4/5 Girl Friend - 3.5/5 Modern World - 4/5 These guys took their influence from the Velvet Underground and maybe some from the Doors and/or Stooges to create an interesting proto-punk sound. Even though this came out in 1976, the song were recorded years early and thus sound way ahead of their time. Its also not really a surprise when two of the members here went on the Cars and Talking Heads after their only album. Overall: 4/5 Favorites: Roadrunner

Mid

One of my favorite albums in recent years. Jonathan Richman is just so cool. This is like the ideal music for a college student

Been a while since I last heard this so I’m glad it popped back up. One of them records that I enjoy but often forget about. Kinda somewhere between The Fall and Velvet Underground, which makes sense given John Cale produced this. There’s also a bit of Doors and Stooges at times too. Kinda like a good mix of all of these. Very good

Pretty mad that they recorded some of these songs in 1971, feels very ahead of its time. Reminded me of the doors early on but there's a more punky streak in there too, particularly how the lyrics are delivered, lots of repetition and messing with the timing. Just generally has a repeatable quality, sounds a bit DIY in the right way, must be very influential. Not completely wowed to a 5 at this point but still great, say 4.5.

Vocals are really one note - to a massive detriment, as some of the music is cracking. Never a fan of carnival tunes though, like in Government Center. I'm Straight is a horrible song, all over the place and really misplaced. I don't think it warrants a 2, but it certainly scrapes a 3.

I'm familiar with "roadrunner", which is a great track, but couldn't have told you it was the modern lovers. Thought this was really good though. It sounds like the velvet underground, and I'm sure he's trying to Imitate Lou Reed at times. I'm fine with that though as he's great. I really like the kinda messy nonchalant singing style. Lyrically a bit weird in parts but at least 4 and I reckon I'll be back

paar zeer goeie nummers, maar ook wat opvullers

-Tracks longer than 3:59: A few -Long tracks interesting or special: No. I get it Pablo Picasso was an asshole and Hospital was painful. -Album shorter than 58 minutes: Yes -Will listen to album again: Unlikely -Overall: It was fine. I was not particularly impressed, although I can hear the influence it had on future artists. 3 stars, but would not recommend.

Solid and addictive.

pablo picaso was a cathartic ass listen cuz ive been getting mad reels abt how awful of person he was. funny ass song good stuff all around love the songwriting good stuff

Listened to it - average. Couple of good, couple of silly ones

Classic, close to 5 but the songs are closer to 4 to me

There's a bunch of favorites here that populate various playlists of mine. Party tunes of a variety of moods, 100% fun, 92% weird, and simultaneously 110% normal honest-to-God rocknroll. "Roadrunner" is among the all-time great rocknroll tracks, but they're all solid. The bonus tracks like "Government Center" and "I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms" (co-written with Iggy Pop) are great, too. The band here (with future members of Talking Heads and the Cars) is a big part of the magic. Jonathan Richman is a treasure. There's a bunch of great albums, but this one (with 1992's *I, Jonathan* not far behind) are the classics. Long been a recommend from me.

Salvador Dalí was an asshole too

Decent once made peace with the voice

Good ol fashioned though at the time new fashioned rock and roll.

5.5/10 Singer annoys me

(insert michael scott yelling "no")

Low 2, not enough

Its an incredible album only by an instrumental and chords perspective. The weak part of it relies on how goofy ass the lyrics are and how jarring the mainly voice is :c such a sad thing, bc i do really think it has some awesome beats and many cool guitar solos!

Richman formed this band when he was 19, chasing his VU dreams. He was doing more worthwhile things than me at that age. Uncomplicated and propulsive, this debut was a harbinger of the punky new wave sounds to come. This always puts me in a good mood. It did again today. (No easy feat btw.)

Jonathan Richman is great in small quantities. An entire album is a little tedious.

I freaking love this album. She's Cracked is one of my all-time favorite songs. But the entire album is excellent. One of the thing that I've found mystifying is how Jonathan Richman could write so many great songs for this album and then spend the rest of his career churning out crap. In listening to this, however, I realized that much of this album is basically about how much of a square Jonathan is. I mean, Old World? He's basically saying that he prefers 1950s NYC to 1970s NYC. I think maybe the guy had one killer album in him, and it needed John Cale and the rest of the Modern Lovers to bring it to fruition. Anyway, whatever, this album is fucking great.

It feels weird to give 5 stars to 3 album in a row, though with Madonna and Afghan Whigs in my future, I can see a course correction coming. It's a little ragged and more than a little slacker in attitude. I love it. Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole. Not like you.

Roadrunner is great, like a really good VU song. Most of the rest is like the VU songs I don't like as much: talky, meandering, lacking in melody.

4/5 - This is a tough one to rate for me, because I adore about half of it, and get irritated by the rest. Feels like an essential proto-punk entry and belongs on the list.

A whole album of the modern lovers is hell

A recent spate of albums featuring bands that sold poorly, but have become legendary. The original band with this label, The Velvet Underground, followed by Big Star, and now The Modern Lovers. Of the three, you root the hardest for Jonathan Richman and his group of Bostonians. Unlike Lou Reed, John Cale, Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, Richman is the most relatable. A seemingly nice guy pining for girlfriends to gain and not lose, Richman also offers a Ray Davies nod to the past and an uncool guy’s view of the hippie drug scene swirling around him. No whips and leather in his world, just his yearning for people to treat each other better. Richman writes about his own needs, the girls (and they are all girls, no one seems older than 21) and a few of the jerks that somehow manage to get the girls instead of nice guy Jonathan. “Pablo Picasso” and Hippie Johnny in “I’m Straight” leave Richman perplexed. Why can girls fall for them when he can handle the world drug free and not be an asshole? He tries both the “Old World” and “Modern World”, even the “Astral Plane” to win over his crush of the week. “Girlfriend” and “Someone I Care About” lay out Richman’s dependable qualities and desire for a real relationship, not just “cocaine sniffing” sex romps. His nasal voice and redundant themes have the potential to wear thin. Somehow he manages to avoid this problem. A great deal of the success comes from the driving V.U.-like beat that Richman’s guitar and drummer Dave Robinson provide. While Jerry Harrison chips in with numerous organ riffs and Richman will occasionally deliver distorted guitar, the songs stick to the basics. While it has lo-fi qualities, someone (producer John Cale? Robinson’s skill) found a way to have the drums appear prominent without taking over the songs. The music offers a joyful break from Richman’s travails, especially the can you top this handclaps on “Someone I Care About.” Two exceptions appear in Richman’s focus, the most fun tracks on the album. The organ swirling can get annoying on “Government Center”, but it scores anyway with its image of a great Friday work party with the secretaries and young mail room guys dancing around the office. Nothing can stop the momentum of “Road Runner.” Outdoing even Reed’s “Rock and Rock”, Richman communicates the power and joy of rock and roll better than anyone. It is a testament to the rest of the record’s strength that the songs can match this great opener. Unlike The Velvet Underground and Big Star, Richman and The Modern Lovers’ catalog contains no other masterpieces. This one is good enough to ensure their legend status.

Wasn’t familiar with this band. Reminded me of The Doors in some ways. Not a fan

C’est l’un des groupes qui a achete un album des velvets et qui a eu la revelation

I feel like I should like this album and I really don't. I feel that the lyrics lack conviction or purpose, and that the singer is less singing them and more just reading them out loud. Something about his voice really irks me. I personally like this old style rock, so I was surprised to find how much I struggled through this album. It's not the worse, though. Some of the more upbeat songs are nice with the exact punk/indie rock drums and guitar which usually have me obsessed. Modern World and Roadrunner are the 3s on this album.

I don’t get the critical adulation for this album, it’s just very pedestrian 70’s proto punk. It sounds more aligned with post punk / new wave, very reminiscent of early Talking Heads and Patti Smith so I guess you could say they were ahead of their time but based on this album they may have been more influential than good. It’s not terrible, but it has no high points, It’s just meh. 2.4

Big fan of this album. The songs, the guitar sound, the drawl. 4.6/5.

Interesting listen and given when it was released, very ahead of its time.