It's happened to Heart (Magazine, 1977), John Mellencamp (The Kid Inside, 1983), heck, even Michael Jackson (Farewell My Summer Love, 1984)! I'm talking about albums that were released by studios long after they were recorded, and without further input from the artists. Typically, this is a result of a label the artist is no longer with wanting to capitalize on prior recorded / unreleased material, or the current label releasing a prior shelved album at the height of said artist's popularity.
Rick Springfield's first four albums were a series of label hopping as he tried to find his footing and carve out his career. His 1972 debut, Beginnings, would be released by Sparmac, while his following two releases, Comic Book Heroes (1973), and Mission Magic! (1974) would be produced by Wizard. Chelsea would release his fourth effort, Wait For Night (1976). However, when it came time for his fifth album, intended to be released in 1978, Mercury would opt to shelf the work upon completion.
It wouldn't be until 1981 that Springfield would finally have his breakout success, releasing several albums throughout the 1980's on RCA's label. This all started with Working Class Dog, which skyrocketed the artist up the charts with his hit, Jessie's Girl. The train would continue down the track with 1982's Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, 1983's Living In Oz, and the 1984 film soundtrack, Hard To Hold, which Springfield also starred in.
It was shortly after the release of the latter that Mercury would pull the 1978 recorded and shelved material, and rework it without the singer's input. The end result was Beautiful Feelings. It's an album that feels incomplete, abandoned, and frankly, despite being reworked, dated.
For me, this purchase was simply to check a box. Every 80's album from Rick Springfield obtained? Check!
Beautiful Feelings made little to no waves when released, and frankly could have been a contributor to derailing the train Rick was on. It's the only album in the middle of his popularity to not chart, and would be followed by a steady decline of sales for future albums. Coincidence? Possibly.
While the opening track, Bruce, initially got some notoriety in 1980, and peaked on the charts in 1984 at number 27, the album as a whole didn't perform as Mercury had hoped and expected. Though I've scoured the internet, I honestly cannot find anything from Springfield talking about the album, or his opinion on Mercury releasing it without his permission (not that they needed it). I was hoping to find some form of article, perhaps even an ugly lawsuit, such as that of Heart when Magazine was released. Some kind of drama. But, no, nothing.
Overall, Rick Springfield is relatively hit or miss for me, so while I wasn't expecting much from Beautiful Feelings, I was a little surprised that it offered nothing at all worth balking about. If anything, it's disappointing, and all the more annoying because it's also the most expensive album to get on CD in his discography.
If it were 1984, and someone told me, "You have to check out Rick Springfield," and I bought this album knowing nothing about him, I definitely would have been confused by what was so amazing about him. This one is definitely not worth the price, and frankly, unless you're a massive fan who soaks up everything from him, is easily one to skip.
Though his formal follow up to Hard To Hold, 1985's Tao, would continue the trend of gold albums, 1988's Rock Of Life, would fail to perform, and thus not meet the expectations of RCA. He wouldn't produce new studio material until 1999's Karma, and though he would continue to release albums, with his latest being 2023's Automatic, never reached the heights of popularity he had from the 80's.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS June 5, 1982 |
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