Review: Not So Much to be Loved

(From the CALGARY SUN
By Darryl Sterdan)

NOT SO MUCH TO BE LOVED AS TO LOVE — Jonathan Richman
Puberty eminent

Some guys never change. Thankfully — and somewhat amazingly — Jonathan Richman is not one of those guys.

On his latest disc Not So Much to be Loved as to Love, the eternally naive troubadour finally sounds as if he's — get this — maturing.

Sure, he still strums that acoustic guitar and warbles with all the earnest simplicity of a camp counsellor at a cookout.

And he still writes songs about painters and Sunday afternoons.

But during the course of this 15-track set, the 53-year-old singer-songwriter also explores more grownup and weighty topics like Mumia Abu-Jamal and mortality.

You could say it's not so much a shock as it is a pleasant surprise.

Track Listing:

• 1. Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love
• 2. Sunday Afternoon
• 3. Vincent Van Gogh
• 4. Cosi Veloce
• 5. He Gave Us The Wine To Taste It
• 6. Salvador Dali
• 7. My Baby Love Love Loves Me
• 8. In Che Mondo Viviamo
• 9. Behold The Lilies Of The Field
• 10. Les Etoiles
• 11. The World Is Showing It's Hand
• 12. Abu Jamal
• 13. On A Du Soleil

Sun rating (out of 5 stars)
3 1/2

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Thank you to Adam for this.