Customer Reviews

The Day After Yesterday

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I'm not sure I understand all of the opposition to this album, especially the criticisms that Springfield has gone "easy listening." Sure, Springfield rocked in the 80s, but I've been hearing his songs played on adult "soft rock" radio stations for years; this certainly isn't the first time that he has been mellow. I admit, his voice has become weaker and more raspy-sounding, but hey, most of his fans are middle-aged now too, right?

I thought Springfield did a nice job with some 80s one-hit wonders, including "I'm Not in Love," "Life in a Northern Town," and "Broken Wings," all of which were at least as good as the original versions. Of course, he couldn't quite live up to John Lennon on "Imagine," but still, this was a decent interpretation. However, I think I most enjoyed the songs that I did not personally recognize, including "Miss You Nights" and "Blue Rose." Overall, I'm happy I bought this album, and I remain a loyal Springfield fan.

I was thrilled to hear Rick's renditions of these great songs in which some I have never ever heard anyone cover. Some great songs such as "Broken Wings", "Human" and "I'm Not in Love" are covered with great modern production. It's a cd that you can sit back, listen, and relax. Rick's voice is top-notch and his recordings just keep getting better.

As with the previous poster, I wasn't anticipating a remake of old songs as much as I would a CD of original material. That makes this CD all the more enjoyable. ANYONE would love this CD -- Springfield fan or not. It has a great sound, easy to listen to, great new interpretations of songs you will recognize. Rick has put together a great set of songs and he sounds amazing. The CD is soulful and intimate and a good reason to revisit these great songs.

If you are looking to relive some favorite tunes from the past, "The Day After Yesterday" by Rick Springfield is a good one!!! However, if you are looking for "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers," this one is NOT for you. Although this offering differs greatly from much of Springfield's most popular tunes, I like it!!! As a fan rediscovering Rick, I appreciate what his mature voice lends to each cut. This album helps to confirm my belief that musicians (just like everyone else) should change and grow, take divergent paths, explore, rediscovery, etc. and not stay the same - play the same tunes in the same old way.
Rick's last album, "Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance," contains many raw and hard-hitting tracks. This one does not. Take it for what it is - he is not selling it as anything but songs that he wished he had written. I appreciate the various offerings by an artist over his/her career span (buy this one and "Anthology -Written in Rock" released in 2005 and "Karma" in 1999 to see what I mean).

I'm not going to try and apologize or rationalize my opinion here. I've read the other reviews, and I think it needs to be said that this cd flat sucks. It's like bad kareoke. It's purely awful. Period.I'm not a Rick-basher. I have everything he's released since "Wait for Night". He's one of my all time favorites, but this is the worst thing he's done that I can remember.Why would he choose these songs to cover. Songs that he supposedly wishes he'd written? Why? At the time that most of these songs were coming out, he was doing stuff far superior to them. It's like Joe Montana saying he wished he could've played as well as Jim McMahon.The instrumentation doesn't deviate from the originals in any notable way, other than sounding completely flat and soulless. Rick's voice sounds so weak, also. Worst is the cover of "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister, where he sings a duet with Richard Page and gets completely shown up vocally.I hate to post this, I really do. But I feel that Rick Springfield fans with some degree of objectivity about themselves must be warned. DON'T buy this thing. Save it for when he puts out a new cd of original songs that better showcase his strengths as a musician. This one showcases his weaknesses, in spectacular fashion.His last two cd's, "Karma" and "Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance were great, but this is a stinker. Beware.

Rick Springfield won a ton of fans in the 1980's with hit songs "Jessie's Girl," "Don't Talk To Strangers," and "What Kind of Fool Am I." Rick also won fans with his acting skills. In the early 80's he had a recurring role on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Rick is set to reprise his role as Dr. Noah Drake starting December 2nd.

Rick's latest CD The Day After Yesterday is a really wonderful piece of music. The 14 song disc is comprised of covers of songs that inspired Rick throughout his career. The Day After Yesterday is a pretty safe CD for Rick, as a good number of the songs are popular 80's hits that his fan base will recognize. At first listen, it's clear that Ricks voice has changed a great deal since his early 80's hits. His voice is still strong but it is quite raspy at times. Rick does a great job on The Human League classic "Human," which isn't very different than the original and he also nails the Mr. Mr. classic "Broken Wings." One thing that is rather disappointing about the CD is that Rick didn't really cover any fast up-tempo songs. It would have really been great to see him cover a real rocked out song like Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer." It's a safe CD and fans old and new should be pleased with this easy listening rock album. The CD closes with Rick's take on the Beatles classic "Imagine." His voice sounds so different than it did twenty years ago, and it's very clear on this song. Yes, time changes but many 80's artists like Bryan Adams, Simon LeBon and Billy Idol maintain a voice quite similar to their "80's" voice. Rick's voice is almost unrecognizable at times. Had this reviewer heard his version of "Imagine" she would have never guessed it was Rick Springfield. It's a great CD and worth checking out if you were a Rick Springfield fan in the 80's.

The whole point behind covering a song is to A) better the original or B) shake things up and make it different than the original. So when Rick Springfield announced that he was taking a break from songwriting and was recording a full album's worth of covers, made up of songs he'd always loved and wished he had written, I thought "Cool...this just might work!" Sadly, that's just not the case...THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY is a tepid affair, with pretty much note-for-note arrangements of the original versions and weak, at times almost lazy, vocals. Now, I believe each and every one of us is entitled to their own opinion when writing a review like this, but I gotta be honest with you...I'm really shocked to read some of the die-hard fan's reviews stating that this CD captures and exhibits Springfield's true talents. Believe me, in MY opinion, none of the vocal nuances, emotions or guitar wizardry that was evident on his last two releases (1999's KARMA and last year's powerful SHOCK/DENIAL/ANGER/ACCEPTANCE) are anywhere to be found on this latest CD. Things kick off with a gauzy version of 10CC's "I'm Not In Love." I'm sure Springfield's breathy lead vocal is supposed to represent pain and anguish but, in the end, it just comes across as over the top. And don't even get me started on how silly and dated the "Big boys don't cry" lyric sounds 30 years down the line! (Though the "I keep your picture/Upon the wall/It hides a nasty stain/Just lying there/So don't you ask me/To give it back" still packs a wallop!). Things continue along the same path with "Under The Milky Way", "Life In A Northern Town" and "Broken Wings." Oh, sure, "Under...." has some nice acoustic guitar work, while there's a genuine earnestness to Springfield's vocal on "....Town" but, ultimately, each track - particularly the last two - collapses under the weight of various wrong turns (length and an over-blown chorus for "Town", an awful vocal arrangement and truly dated vibe for "Wing"). No, things don't really kick in until the fifth cut, the ethereal "Human." Springfield not only manages to capture the pain of the original, he builds on and betters it. All the elements that made this a hit over twenty years ago are still there (a true testament to the writing genius of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis!), but thee's also a freshness and vulnerability that reverberates throughout the track. My only complaint....the cheesy pseudo-British female backing vocal (used two or three times too many throughout the disc!); I think the track would have had even more puch if Springfield had instead asked a fellow 80's survivor (say, Martha Davis, Terri Nunn or Pat Benatar) to join him. "Holding On To Yesterday" starts out with a nice, sultry groove, but then the horns kick in and the histrionic lead vocal sends the whole thing over and off the deep end. Moving in any number of directions, this is a song that ultimately spins out of control, not sure which course it wanted to take. "Baker Street" is another track that (sadly) fizzles. Yes, the sizzling guitars and wailing sax are intoxicating, but that's nothing new....they were 25+ years ago when Gerry Rafferty first released the song. You can't better it, you can't improve upon it, you certainly can't change it.....so why even try?!? All I can think of is Rick wanted to (re)introduce a classic to his younger fans...if that's the case, good for him! "Waiting For A Girl Like You" might have been a nifty left-field choice to include on SHOCK/DENIAL/ANGER/ACCEPTANCE, but here it just seems very run-of-the-mill. It's at this point that things picked up for me on the disc...not knowing much about Blue Nile, Westlife and Lizz Wright, their tracks almost seemed like new, original material to me. Couple that with a Beatles track and a John Lennon cut, plus the sole Springfield original, and you have many of the strongest moments on THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY. "Let's Go Out Tonight" has a smokey, sexy quality to it, with some beautiful sax snaking in and out and a plaintive lead vocal coaxing the listener in. Add some delicate keyboards and muted percussion and you have the disc's best track. Covering the Beatles is always tough, but you just have to plug your nose and jump in feet first, and that's what Springfield does on "For The One." Much like "Human", he honors the original, but manages to put his own spin on things, making it sound fresh, contemporary and, most importantly, like it was one of his own. There's an understated quality to "Miss You Nights" that's both captivating and mesmerizing....the arrangement is thoughtful and uncluttered, while Springfield's vocal both soars and swirls. Another winner! "Blue Rose" is absolutely elegant, with a raspy, yet sincere, lead vocal and a jazz club combo-vibe to the arrangement...piano, guitar, drums and (especially!) sax all come together brilliantly. "Cry" is the disc's lone original cut, a powerful track that could have easily fit on S/D/A/A. With it's soaring lead vocal and thoughtful lyrics ("You've got to cry/And surrender to it tonight/Time alone/Won't heal your wounds/It just makes you numb"), it's yet another strong number. Things wrap up with "Imagine", a VERY tough song to cover (I mean, c'mon, it's JOHN LENNON's signature song!)....let's just say, Springfield doesn't embarrass himself. Unfortunately, that can't be said about THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY as a whole....after two very strong releases, this disc is a definite step -or two!- backwards for Rick Springfield (Normally, I would also be docking the disc another half a star for not including the lyrics, but I know acquiring the publishing rights to a disc's worth of cover tunes could be costly, so I'll waive that rule here).

Rick Springfield takes songs HE likes, that he wishes he'd written, stays true to the original and adds his extra guitar touch to make them for "T'DAY". I like the cd - it grows on you more and more as you listen. These are clearly NOT Rick Springfield penned, type songs. I absolutely love Rick's own songs, but don't expect that styling in this CD. His raspy, throaty voice clearly works better for some songs than others. "Life in a Northern Town" is amazing; "Broken Wings" featuring Richard Page of the original great; "Baker Street" very well done, as is "Human". You gotta give someone credit to cover Beatles songs and Rick does quite well with "For No One" in particular. The main thing is for me, not specific choice of songs as I would have chosen, but perspective that these are songs this singer/songwriter admires and his interpretation of same. A definite buy it! Grade A

I am a true blue Rick fan since 1981. As I read previous reviews I understand that there is disappointment that these remakes are so close to the originals. In knowing Rick as a fan, I know that he is a great songwriter. I could only imagine that he would stay true to the originals as his way of showing his admiration and respect for the original songwriter. This also demonstrates the reason why he chose the songs he did, because they are well written highly artistic songs. If you listen closely you will hear that the songs are not actually identical however, very close to the originals with just a bit of Rick's style added in.

As for the songs Rick has chosen, they are artistic legendary songs chosen by a true legendary artist. If you are not familiar with them you have your second chance to enjoy great music from yesterday.

It almost pains me to call Rick a legend, because I've been a fan most of my life. "Legend" implies longevity, and I hate to admit how old I've become! But since the early 70's, Rick has been producing beautiful music, and this new CD is no exception. That's not to say, however, that it isn't completely different. A real change of pace for the rocker who gave us S/D/A/A not too long ago!

It's definitely a mellow CD, but it has a smoothness that was only hinted at on Karma (a fairly recent RS CD, for the unfamiliar). I enjoy the covers of familiar songs from the 70's and 80's, and I actually love his version of "Imagine." Rick evokes real emotion and captures John Lennon's original spirit, while still offering his own twist to the song. Probably the best cut on the CD, next to the original "Cry."

Most Rick fans know that he has written much of his own music over the years, so this CD is either a tremendous risk or a commercial cop-out. I vote for the former, believing that Rick wanted to artistically try a new direction and still have some fun in the process. Including "Cry" gives us the reminder that Rick is a brilliant composer & lyricist, and his original work is almost always inspiring. I LOVE this song, and I sincerely hope it is released as a single. It should be a tremendous hit!

Most RS fans would likely prefer more of his original songs, but this CD gives us a chance to see his interpretations of songs that competed with his own earlier hits--a unique approach, and one that works quite well. You won't be sorry that you picked this one up!