MUSIC ON VINYL
As a bridge between the proto-punk The Modern Lovers and the Michael Rosen kid poetry of Jonathan Sings!, this works well. Released in 1976 on Beserkely, with label boss Matthew ‘King’ Kaufman producing, Richman’s debut came out months before Kaufmann unleashed those 1972 punk demos and put Roadrunner on the map. This, though, is the real Richman: childlike, charming and rich in doo-wop vocal harmony. It’s packed with his signature songs: from Rocking Shopping Center, the B-movie comedy of Here Come The Martian Martians and Abominable Snowman In The Market to the urban poetry of Lonely Financial Zone. It’s also earthier and less whimsical than some of his later efforts.