Great Rock Albums of 1981: Rick Springfield- Working Class Dog

In the mid 1980s, I thought that Rick Springfield was one of those commercially produced artists who's sound was out to try to please everybody. I still think that. My motivation for visiting the "Working Class Dog" album comes from elsewhere. Back in the summer of 1981, my marine buddies and I used to frequent a go-go bar outside the base called The Driftwood. During that summer, Springfield's biggest hit, "Jessie's Girl," received a lot of play on the juke box. There was this one dancer, I only knew her as Twinkles, seemed to be on stage a lot when it was played and believe me, she knew how to work the stage to the song. It was just how she used to use the poles to move along with it that was eye catching and that image comes to the forefront of my brain housing group whenever I hear "Jessie's Girl."

[caption id="attachment_2237" align="aligncenter" width="258"] The Driftwood (I can't believe I found a picture of it online)[/caption]

Having listened to the album again after so many years, (that's one major plus in writing this blog) I have come to the conclusion that it isn't the commercial rock that I associate with Rick Springfield later on in the decade. "Working Class Dog" is far from a metal album but it is an enjoyable rock album. There are some decent rock tunes on it and I'm not just talking about the forementioned famous hit. There is the more minor hit "I've Done Everything For You," which is a good song on it's own right, except Twinkles never danced to it. I also thought the title track, "Hole in My Heart" and "The Light of Love" are all in the same light; good, listenable rock tunes. However, I found the big surprise to be the penultimate track, "Red Hot & Blue Love." This song goes against the flow of the rest of the album with a more guitar blues sound. The guitar solo is ear catching showing why Neil Geraldo doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Once again, I find myself pleasantly surprised although my opinion of Rick Springfield's later stuff hasn't changed.

Track Listing:

1. Working Class Dog

2. Jessie's Girl

3. Hole in My Heart

4. Carry Me Away

5. I've Done Everything For You

6. The Light of Love

7. Everybody's Girl

8. Daddy's Pearl

9. Red Hot & Blue Love

10. Inside Sylvia

Rick Springfield- vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards

Robben Ford- guitar

Neil Geraldo- guitar, bass

Gabriel Katona- keyboards

Jeff Eyrich- bass

Mike Baird- drums

Jack White- drum

Jeremiah Cox- french horn, backing vocals

Tom Kelly- backing vocals

This post has given me further ideas, there were other songs that were made to come alive when danced to by some of the ladies at the Driftwood. My mind flashes back to one named Beverly who made me appreciate REO Speedwagon's "Take It On the Run" in a different light and there were others. The other thing was that experience has burned unique memories of certain songs and like in the case of Twinkles with "Jessie's Girl," got me to listen to the album more. In the case of Rick Springfield and "Working Class Dog," it was a nice surprise.

Next post: Dire Straits- Making Movies

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