Review Summary: Super-powered ambitions and uneven heroics
Having released a cute and unassuming debut album – one that was not without heart and talent, but failed to become a major event in its field – Rick Springfield (supported by Capitol Records) soon produced a follow-up, the fancily titled
Comic Book Heroes.
A short time between early releases can mean different things: an abundance of new ideas that have not yet dried up, the success of previous albums, label pressure, or simply youth, drive, and the associated productivity. In this case, we can assume Rick wanted to develop the sounds he had hinted at on his debut, while asserting himself with greater confidence and credibility. Moreover, a feeling of lingering dissatisfaction and the artist’s continued localized popularity, combined with the raw material presented earlier, called for a distinct course correction.
All of this can be felt while listening to the new work, which mostly leaves the pleasant impression of a fresh step up the artistic ladder. There is a leaner, more organic flow to the songs, which touch on topics and moods that are diverse yet gracefully blended in range. Instead of circus-like tunes, somewhat weak bubblegum pop, and shaky baroque pop, we get well-thought-out arrangements and vintage rock elements. The instrumental foundation changed as well, featuring string orchestra segments and respectable guitar solos. Add in Springfield’s still-sincere and impassioned vocals, and the LP gains enough atmosphere to hold the audience’s attention. If we try to identify the genre, it leans closer to classic and folk rock, with songs like
Weep No More,
Why Are You Waiting,
Misty Water Woman, and
Do You Love Your Children demonstrating the further development and expansion of his musical arsenal.
However, either due to insufficient time to gather enough strong material or because of a prevailing uncertainty in the chosen direction, the second half of the record presents a string of misses and oddities. Any listener pleasantly surprised thus far will squirm in disappointment, since starting from
The Liar and running right up to (though excluding) the final track, there is little worth listening to. Especially sad is
The Photograph, a cut completely misses the “superhero” mark. It sounds as though a boy-band fan wandered into the studio while Springfield was away and hastily pasted together the first ideas that popped into their mind. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain all those ‘nuh-nuh-nuhs’ and ‘la-la-las’; it is much easier to just forget about it and suffer through to the end.
Fortunately, the epic, six-minute gospel closer brings the album back to the level of its first half, allowing the listener to restore their faltering trust and sympathy, while giving Rick a chance to demonstrate his flair for rock opera and multi-part arrangements. Due in no small part to this, the LP ultimately leaves a pleasant impression of a fresh, fairly ambitious record well worth returning to.
At the same time, the album failed to achieve commercial success, despite the growth in the musician’s potential. While the LP cannot be called groundbreaking in terms of musical ideas, Springfield’s discography later included opuses that stormed the charts yet fell short of this work in terms of sheer talent.
And so, with all its accomplishments and drawbacks, the album shows Rick refusing to repeat himself, widening his range, and simultaneously demonstrating artistic continuity and forward momentum. It is a solid result for an emerging, locally known solo artist.
