Rick Springfield Albums Ranked
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian musician and actor. He was a member of the pop-rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut single “Speak to the Sky” reaching the top 10 in Australia in mid-1972, when he moved to the United States. He had a No. 1 hit with “Jessie’s Girl” in 1981 in both Australia and the U.S., for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. He followed with four more top 10 U.S. hits: “I’ve Done Everything for You”, “Don’t Talk to Strangers”, “Affair of the Heart”, and “Love Somebody”. Springfield’s two U.S. top 10 albums are Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet (1982). Here are all of Rick Springfield albums ranked,
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8. Tao (1985)
“The musicianship and production are amazing. Repeated listens are the key. You need to take it a few times to appreciate it. Songs like Written In Rock, Tao of Love, Stranger In The House, and Standing on The Edge are absolute gems. As great as the music is, the lyrics may be the best part for some. It’s a very dark album lyrically due to the depression he was going through at the time.”
7. Hard To Hold (1984)
“The melody feels a bit like a roller coaster and doesn’t let you go till the last chord. Don’t Walk Away is somber and moving, if a bit dated by now. Taxi Dancing is a beautiful ballad duet with a jazz singer whose name unfortunately escapes me now.”
6. Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet (1982)
“Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet is a perfect album for those who like the pop-rock sound of the 80’s and catchy tunes. All of the songs have great rhythms and melodies. Songs like “Don’t Talk To Strangers” and “What Kind Of Fool Am I?” were hot tracks of the time and had topped the charts. My favorites are “Tonight”, “Just One Kiss”, “I’m Still Crazy For You” and “Black Is Black”
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5. Songs For The End Of The World (2012)
“This album is packed with catchy guitar hooks, rich instrumentation, and excellent vocals. I was concerned about the direction of his music with SDAA. I shouldn’t have been. The last two albums have been rock solid, literally and figuratively. How the man keeps doing this without any perceptible loss in quality or integrity or descent into stagnation is beyond me. I just hope he keeps doing whatever he’s doing because it’s working.”
4. Rocket Science (2016)
“Very strong lyrics, catchy hooks, and awesome layers. An unbelievable release at this stage in his career. The Best Damn Thing is the best track in my opinion, but all the songs demonstrate a very talented song writer. It’s a great album for spring when you roll down the windows and drive.”
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3. Working Class Dog (1981)
“The album is probably one of the best albums of modern eighties rock and made Rick Springfield into an international success. The big single from the album, “Jessie’s Girl”, garnered Rick a Grammy as Best Rock Performance by a Male, as well as going to #1 on the Billboard Singles Chart. The other single, the first released, “I’ve Done Everything For You”, went to #8 and the album would go all the way into the Top 10 landing at #7 and going multi-platinum.”
2. Rock Of Life (1987)
“This particular record delivers a searing rebuke to Springfield’s less perceptive critics. Listeners who dare, are confronted herein by a tour de force of musical artistry in the depths of spiritual struggle with human despair and an invitation to take a glimpse over the precipice into the abyss. This is an uncompromising reminder of the unavoidable agonies and potential transcendence to which we are all heir.”
1. Living In Oz (1983)
“Living in Oz is arguable the best of the Springfield collection. It has a hard edge that defies his supposed teen-idol “bubble-gum” status. From the opening pleas of “I need it… the Human Touch” (Human Touch) to the closing warning “there must be something much deeper than the fear of pain, another child learns the pattern, he won’t change the game” (Like Father, Like Son) Rick announces that he means business. There are a few throw away songs on this album. “Tiger by the Tail” is a little to bubble-gummy, and “Motel Eyes” gets a little raunchy in places”