Karma

"Karma" is latest effort from Mr. Springfield after a 10 year absence from the recording studio as we know it. In that 10 years, "life" has happened to Rick and it runs like a thread through the tracks on this CD. Everything is touched on here, from religion to death to marriage to incest. Don't be fooled into thinking RS has gone Nirvana on us. There are some honest to goodness love songs here, with the very moving "Free" and "Shock to my System", which every guy sould play when sipping wine with his gal in front of the fireplace. Springfield has not forgotten that rock brought him to the dance as is shown on the more guitar oriented "Prayer", It's Always Something" and the title song, "Karma". In my opinion, It's as good or better than anything on the radio today.

A kinder, more gentle Rick; I think so but we all have to grow up sometime.


Worth the Wait   August 26, 1999
M. Norris
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Finally, a Rick Springfield album that will not only satisfy Springfield fans, but (hopefully) win over music critics as well. Gone are the songs that pander to teenage girls and, in their place, thoughtful, evocative lyrics about life and living. Springfield, now 50, has segued from "Jessie's Girl" to "Ordinary Girl," a song that celebrates the beauty of a long-term relationship. ("I see her there in her plain print dress and her fading youth. Something about her opens up my soul. Something about her speaks the truth.") The thread that runs through this album is in its title, KARMA. Almost every song is filled with religious imagery and a clear message that one's actions carry consequences. As Springfield sings in Karma, "Another wheel set in motion with every single thing I do." Much of the album is autobiographical as in "It's Always Something," in which Springfield sings about his often-frustrating musical career. "When I was a boy, the teachers and the priests said, "Why do you let him run around like that? My father said, 'If the boy wants to play the guitar, I say we let him.' Through the hard years, he was my rock when I just could not win. So it goes my father died just before my leaky ship came in." Stand-outs on this album include "ItsAlwaysSomething," "Act of Faith," "Prayer," "Shock to My System," "Ordinary Girl" and the hidden track, "Big Beautiful Friday Night." Bottom line: Fans will buy it and love it. Others should, though given the lack of air-play and promotion, probably won't get the chance.


Rick's Tuned in again (this is a rewrite of mine from5/99)   January 13, 2000
Alicia Maloney (NJ)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

(When I originally wrote this I had used a different email addy (amaloney@hotmail.com) I just joined the community using addy amaloney @home.com from 5/3/99 I wrote:

Well, this crazy fan of his is back...Rick's managed to do it again,

With Springfield keeping the consistency in his talent of tapping into other people's thoughts and feelings.

It gives Springfield something that few other performers seem to have--integrity.

Rick's courage in placing his world- out there for all to see in what he's wriiten and expressed in his songs, Always manages to leave this listener forever grateful--

That there are musicians like Rick, whom for most of the years ( dare I say all) that he's been performing his music,

Rick is able to express what I lkie to term the -"Yeah I've been there before factor"-

In this recording of KARMA, Springfield keeps the thread of the loss of his father and in how it's impacted his life and for longtime Rick fans, the track of-- "it'salwayssomething", brings to light another part of the healing process that Rick had to go through to get to where he is today.

Like I wrote before, Springfield puts himself in everyone's shoes in the process of making his music.

And I truly believe that he does this as a catharsis for himself and the world in dealing with the problems and feelings of life as a common bond.

In the track "Beautiful Prize", Springfield manages to tackle a very tabooed subject in society--and he has the gentleness to realize that the person in the song can come out as the victor--and it might give those in the same situation--hope.

And in today's world, hope is always a good thing to be trying to put out there.

Springfield has a powerful gift, in his ability to use his talent to write these kinds of songs for the greater good,

Which is something I think Rick's been trying to do all along,--and rarely given the credit for,

Springfield has also managed to keep his his life in perspective-- as quoted from the track "Ordinary Girl"

"Nothing that matters comes easy, Nothing that comes easy ever really matters".

And with that, I believe that Springfield appreciates all he's been given,

And we as fans, deeply connect with this aspect of his music and personality, because this guy seems to know what is really important in life--and his aspects of his impact on this world...

"As the smallest stream runs to a river and every river runs to the sea, so every little bit of love I give to another, you know that I believe it comes back to me...

(except taken from the title track--"KARMA")


Good Music=Commercial Doom   April 25, 1999
shingles@webtv.net (Tennessee)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Why is it that the popular music industry is in the crapper? Well, lots of reasons. However, one of those is the fact that people like Amazon.com critic Rickey Wright actually get paid for their opinions.Garbage like Marylin Manson and a CD of WWF songs (?!) linger near the top of the charts while critics continue to give bad reviews to honest musical efforts. And once you have the disdain of music industry insiders, like Springfield has for about a decade and a half now, no level of effort can save you commercially. Radio won't play your records, and your label will eventually drop you.Case in point:"Karma". A solid effort from a talented singer/songwriter that is doomed to obscurity. Some who hear it will be surprised that Springfield has grown past the fluffy pop rock that put him on the map, but those who hung around for "Tao" and "Rock of Life" know that this happened over a decade ago. Alas, without the benifit of a major label, and with the disdain that the music industry still harbors for Rick, "Karma" is relegated to a sort of cult statis. You have to admire Springfield for continuing to record at all.Still, if you have ever liked Rick Springfield, or if you're willing to give this album a chance, you can't go wrong with it. I guarantee it.


Good Stuff   August 21, 2000
Mike Castro (Mount Kisco, NY USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

That 80's teen idol/soap opera star hunk always considered himself a rock musician above anything else, but all of the baggage and Teen magazine covers kind of obscured the fact. His latest album, Karma, gives an indication that maybe he knew what he was talking about. This is pop/rock music, to be sure, but it's pretty darn good pop/rock music, performed with the sort of desperate intensity you might expect from someone trying to drag his career out of the "Where are they now" file. A few tracks are standard pop fare, but these are eclipsed by standout tracks like "In Veronica's Head", "Hey Maria", and "Beautiful Prize". If Springfield released this album under another name, it would be all over the radio.