Jonathan Richman: Surrender To Jonathan

Check out this cover! Jonathan Richman—after 20 albums spanning children's songs, Spanish-language music and a stab at country—has recorded an entire album of pirate music! Of course that's not true: Jonathan Richman sings Jonathan Richman music, and no other kind. It's usually simple, stripped-down, guitar-based stuff about love or other silliness, and these 13 songs are no exception as Richman tells us about his polyglot ways in "French Style," his broken heart from touring in "Not Just A Plus One On The Guest List Anymore," and the complex subterfuges of drag-racing in "That Little Sleeper Car." Also thrown in are new versions, each a little more filled-out than the old, of "Egyptian Reggae" from almost 20 years ago, and "I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar" from 1992. So it's not pirate music. But it's Jonathan Richman music, and that counts for a lot.