Review Summary: Rick Springfield yet again confirms his pop-rock karma.
After over 10 years of musical absence pop-rock hero Rick Springfield returned, presenting to the world his new album with a somewhat intriguing title
Karma. So could it satisfy his fans following a whole decade? And what could the singer offer, since he quietly skipped a whole epoch – the 1990s, a period of musical revolutions and breakthroughs, a time when many musicians achieved fame or even cult status while others managed only to warily welcome the dusk of their greatness?
It is an undisputed accomplishment that Rick sounds refreshed and rested as if after an extended vacation, something not many others can manage following a long hiatus or long-awaited reunion (in respect to bands). The stylistic baggage of the 80s was discarded as useless, the past hit-making advances were noted and developed, and expertly put on the modern sounding rails.
As for the songs, despite the narrow genre constraints Mr. Springfield operates in, he hit upon an almost ideal balance of rockers and ballads, in addition to the abundance of great melodies, which grab by the heart and please an unsophisticated ear. The album opener
It’s Always Something already includes the recipe (winding guitar fills, catchy chorus, memorable melody and pulsating beat) used later on in various proportions (
Beautiful Prize or the heaviest track on the album
In Veronica’s Head). In
Prayer a thick and persistent bassline leads the rest, creating another hook-filled pop song with a typical (in a good way) Springfield-ian chorus and pre-chorus. Among ballads and mid-tempo cuts of note is
Religion of the Heart, which is cleverly encrusted with a low-key yet prominent and Clapton-like homely guitar whirls against Elton Johnesque melody. Another one is title track with its expected Eastern motives and unexpected rockier chorus and bridge opening up the arrangement. The only downside of the track is its brevity, despite the fact that it is longer than the average duration of other cuts. It would seem in this instance that the longer length could have amplified the innate epicness of the song. The most diverse and, arguably, best tracks on the album are
Shock to My System and
The White Room. The former deploys its arsenal with the R&B rhythm to fire on all guns in the chorus, while simultaneously developing the Eastern vibe employed in
Karma. The latter suddenly changes mood during chorus, switching from a contemplative and touching cut to a practically arena rock number before reverting.
The overall picture is somewhat blemished by the last 3 tracks that are run-of-the-mill and border on filler quality (
Ordinary Girl,
Act of Faith,
Hey Maria), but this shortcoming is more than outweighed by the previous set and has almost no impact on the pleasant aftertaste.
And so Rick Springfield circa 1999 stepped back into the ranks in great shape serving his fans an accomplished pop-rock album: a gruff but tender voice against a soft and feathery yet precise and distinct guitar, measured and concise rhythm section, ambient keyboards, and convincing and simple tunefulness all within the confines of mainstream song structures.
