Mr. Mike's High School Record Collection: Rick Springfield - Living In Oz

I think the time has come to correct an oversight, I've been doing this blog for a little while and I can't recall mentioning The Genius - Rick Springfield. Yes, that Rick Springfield. The teenybopper Soap star that got millions of teenage girls and their Moms swooning through the 80's. With his status as America's heartthrob, it was hard to take the man seriously. And due to my occasionally questionable taste in music I got stuck with the rawest deal of all...I actually liked Springfield for the artistry in his music.

I'll say it again, the artistry in his music. No, I'm really not joking. It's not a typo. I called Springfield "The Genius" because he was able to put some personal feeling into an otherwise generic rock sound. He played the teen idol game with the slick clothes, songs about girls he can't have and a clean cut image. But he wrote almost all of his own music, co-produced much of it and had some real talent. Generic rock is usually about taking a sentiment and making it the most vague and general as possible, Springfield did the opposite by taking general sentiments and personalizing them.

So how did I fall into this trap of being a fan of The Genius? Well, it happened when I saw the video for one of his lesser hits, "Souls". I just thought that song kicked ass in a harmless, melodic sort of way which was mainly the type of music I listened to at that time. This led me to buying his album, Living In Oz. The album was intended as a departure from his clean cut Soap rocker image, he grew stubble and wore leather which was intended to look tougher but really had the opposite effect. Still, Oz was Springfield's bid for legitimacy. And like a DaVinci Code I now am going to reveal the true artistry of the master of melodic rock.

1. Human Touch - In 1983 the computer age had officially begun. In movies like Wargames they could start World War III without realizing it. Soon we all would be enslaved by Commodore 64s into playing Missle Command until that bowling ball thing in the middle fell out. And no one was more in tune with this than The Genius, the lack of human feeling in a technological age is the chief concern of "Human Touch". So desperate for human contact, he resorts to calling his computer "Sally". Springfield...so ahead of his time.

2. Alyson - A Police styled rocker that alternated between a reggae verse and Arena rock chorus. The lyrics centered around an affair that happens between actors on the set. Given his General Hospital background, I couldn't help but think this was inspired by a real situation. You can take an actor out of the Soap Opera but you can't take the Soap Opera out of the actor.

3. Affair Of The Heart - This was the lead single and sole Top 10 hit from the Living In Oz album. On the surface, the song played up his sex symbol image with lyrics about an obsessive and steamy relationship. Dig deeper, you'll find the song is about his relationship with fame itself. Longtime sideman Tim Pierce unleashes a killer guitar solo, one of many he would turn in during Springfield's career.

4. Living In Oz - Since he's from Australia, it would make sense it's about the land Down Under but the lyrics reeked of L.A. and the Wizard of Oz. The hardest rocking cut on the album, the title truck continued the theme started with "Affair Of The Heart" by depicting Springfield as a driven person who might be getting burnt out on fame. The speed of the song emphasizes the fast life Springfield's living. Sample lyric: "Everyone's got a desire to leave their mark / some just do it over a trail of broken hearts!"

5. Me & Johnny - Side one of the record ended with this reverie of childhood dreams and simple pleasures. Given the jadedness of the other songs, it's easy to see how Springfield would look back fondly at a less demanding time. They were going to grow up to be rock and roll rebels, feckless youth. After all the hard living of the first four tracks a little warmth is needed even if it's a memory. I have no idea who Johnny is or if he's real, but this song comes across as the most personal of all the songs on the album.

6. Motel Eyes - As alluded to in "Living In Oz", Springfield had women throwing themselves at him which undoubtedly led to trouble at home. Nowhere is this more evident than on "Motel Eyes", a song about fighting off temptation even "though there was something wicked 'bout the way she flexed her thighs." My wife recorded a Springfield performance on Oprah recently, women are still throwing themselves at this guy. "I saw a dull red neon sign flashing in her eyes / It said "Vacancy" she had Motel Eyes." Don't go with her Rick! Don't do it! Think of your wife!

7. Tiger By The Tail - Unlike recent American Idol Jason Castro, Springfield can do an OK reggae groove even if it is by way of Sting. Again, the Rickster feels the price of fame as the song details the good and bad of commitment in a general sense. Probably my least favorite song on the album back then because it was overly repetitive. It could have benefited from being a minute shorter.

8. Souls - The crown jewel in the Rick Springfield songbook as far as I'm concerned. It tells a narrative story of a man and a woman coming to the Big City "rolling the dice / looking for a seven" and finding pressure and dehumanization. The theme hints at discovering spiritual meaning in love while facing a life of setbacks and failure. Having the guitar solo parts doubled adds to the feeling of spirits following each other and I actually had to look up the word "acquiesce" back then to figure out what the song meant. Bonus trivia for the video, the girl featured is not a good actress because she was a contest winner for the role.

9. I Can't Stop Hurting You - A few years back Springfield was arrested for spousal abuse which puts a slightly different light on this song (though the charges were dropped). Hopefully that's not what inspired this song about a relationship where Springfield gets mad and his girl moves out and then reconciles to start over again. As it stands, this song had an urgency and sharpness to it.

10. Like Father, Like Son - Not to be confused with the Kirk Cameron / Dudley Moore comedy of the same name, this song following the intense "I Can't Stop Hurting You" gave a very dark ending to the album. I seem to remember strings as the main instrumentation here. The song relates a story of a boy sent to a boarding school where it alludes the boy is abused ("Fear of God and Fear of the Rod will raise a good boy") in the name of a religious upbringing. The boy grows up, has a son and continues with the same pattern. Though I wasn't abused, my friends and I could certainly relate to the songs strict religious theme and "He went to confession, He went to confession" mantra from our Catholic school days. The song never says the boy is Springfield, so it's hard to say if it's fictional or not. But his point is made just the same, stop the cycle of violence in families.

I never noticed how the last two songs in particular had to do with cycles of dark behavior until just now. Living in Oz illustrates a man on the edge, trapped by what he wanted most but unable to give it up. The pressure, the detachment, the broken relationships can't stave off the allure of Platinum records and Sold Out concerts. All this from a bubblegum Soap Opera actor? You bet, because Rick Springfield is PURE GENIUS. You think you have a good time squeaky clean record, but you don't. Instead, you have an artist flying his talent in just under the radar disguised as disposable junk. Sort of like when the Millennium Falcon drifts off with the trash from the Star Destroyer in The Empire Strikes Back. Well, it wasn't as cool as that but I think you get the point.

I couldn't find it, but back then on Saturday Night Live actor Barry Bostwick did a great skit where he portrayed Rick Springfield as an overweight narcissist faux rocker. I wish I could post it as I thought it was really funny at the time. In addition to the music, I learned a lesson from this record. I lent it to a friend and didn't get it back for a year. When I finally got it, the record had so much dust from being left out that it sounded like crap. That's the Genius, always teaching, always learning.