Rick Springfield - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) + Bonus E.P 'Jessie's Girl'

(Australian 1962 - Present)

To the uninitiated, the name Rick Springfield conjures up everything 1980s: Jessie’s Girl, General Hospital , Polo shirts and Converse tennis shoes. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find that Rick Springfield is much more than the mistakenly categorized “actor turned musician”. A songwriter and guitar player to rival the greats, Rick Springfield is an Aussie musician that has stood the test of time and the decades since his surge of fame starting in 1981.

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”, which reached 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 US, for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

Rick recorded his next album, "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet" during his off hours on General Hospital and toured in the same way. "I have never seen anyone work that hard," recalled drummer Jack White on VH-1's Behind the Music. While critics still didn't quite trust a rocker with such a pretty face and huge teen following, many were beginning to come around to see Rick's talent as a rocker.

'Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet' was released by RCA Records in 1982. The album was certified Platinum in the United States, and produced three top 40 singles; “Don’t Talk to Strangers” (#2 – for four weeks), “What Kind of Fool Am I” (#21, not the show tune of the same name) and “I Get Excited” (#32). “Don’t Talk to Strangers” and “Calling All Girls” also received considerable Album Rock airplay, charting at #11 and #4 respectively.

In an interview with Songfacts, Springfield explained that “Don’t Talk to Strangers” was about his paranoia that his girlfriend was being unfaithful when he was away. The song melody is actually from the earlier recording called “Spanish Eyes”, found on Rick’s “Sound City Recordings” from 1978. “Kristina” is a remake of the Bachman–Turner Overdrive song “Jamaica”, using different lyrics, while "I Get Excited" is a reworking of his 1981 Mega hit "Jessie's Girl" which I think is a bit of a cop out and I find myself asking 'why would you do this?'.

The album’s name is a play on the question Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, the name used for a 1955 play and a 1957 film that were mostly unrelated to each other.

In 1982, Rick was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal. MTV played his videos in heavy rotation, and Showtime aired a live special, "Live and Kicking." Rick Springfield was here to stay.

Album Review

'Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet', which was slapped together practically a year after the popular 1981 Working Class Dog, is clearly aimed to replicate the success of its predecessor, despite the ironic statement in the title. Besides the short gap between the two albums this goal is also confirmed by the cover: it has the same cute dog that this time has come up in the world from the working class and the grateful driver Springfield who serves it champagne. A very strong sense of repetition follows for the duration of listening to the record. It has the same anthemic wanna be hit songs about girls and relationships with straightforward and measured rhythms, slick guitars, and a generous helping of the then-current studio polish. The feeling of déja vu (or impression that you listen to Side 2 of the 1981 LP) intensifies when one hears "I Get Excited", which recalls the superhit under the same number on the previous album to a fault. And this unabashed exploitation of the same approach continues until the end.

One interesting track on the album is Rick's cover of a 70's classic entitled "Black Is Black". Written and first performed by Los Bravos, "Black Is Black" was also covered by French vocal trio La Belle Epoque and released as a 1976 single, and peaked at number two in the UK, and reached number one in Australia the following year.  His interpretation of this mega hit is interesting and somewhat refreshing.

Certainly there are occasional solid songs, primarily ballads, like "Don’t Talk to Strangers", despite its clear ties to the time period, or "Still Crazy for You", which is surprisingly moving and possessing a somewhat timeless quality. But these instances do not save the LP from sinking in the flow that overtook many musicians and was only getting stronger at the time.

In the end, Rick Springfield managed to step into the same waters again, bringing joy to the fans of the previous album, but failed to add anything worthy to the bank of his artistic legacy. The record is recommended to those with nostalgia for the 80s, since it effectively translates the vibe and the spirit of the time. As for the other music fans, they can either rewind back to the good old rock or try going forward with a hope for a miracle, at one’s own risk. [Review by Batareziz, Sputnik Music - Aug, 2017]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from my vinyl and includes full album artwork for both Vinyl and CD formats, plus label scans.

As as added bonus, I am also including a rip of his 1981 E.P release entitled 'Jessie's Girl', also ripped to FLAC format. Originally released at the same time as his 'Working Class Dog' LP, the E.P is not easy to find, and as such should put icing on the cake for this post. Artwork for the E.P is also included.

Track Listing

01 Don't Talk To Strangers 3:00

02 Calling All Girls 3:19

03 I Get Excited 2:32

04 What Kind Of Fool Am I 3:20

05 Kristina 3:00

06 Tonight 3:16

07 How Do You Talk To Girls 3:18

08 Still Crazy For You     3:46

09 The American Girl 3:10

10 Just One Kiss    3:10

11 Black Is Black   2:52

12 April 24, 1981 1:32

Band Members:

Lead Vocals - Rick Springfield

Backing Vocals – Richard Page, Tom Kelly, Tom Funderburk

Bass – Dennis Belfield

Drums – Mike Baird

Guitar – Charles Sandford, Rick Springfield, Tim Pierce

Keyboards – Alan Pasqua, Gabriel Katona

BONUS: Jessie's Girl E.P 

01 - Jessie's Girl

02 - Carry Me Away

03 - I've Done Everything For You

04 - Everybody's Girl

Rick Springfield LP & EP Link (288Mb)