‘Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance’ (SDAA for short) came out in 2004 and it was the album that reintroduced me back to Rick Springfield. It had been 5 years since his last album ‘Karma’ in 1999, but I was in a bad place at that time and completely missed that album. For me, this was his first album since ‘Rock of Life’ in 1988…16 years earlier.
I hadn’t completely forgotten about Rick Springfield, but he certainly wasn’t top-of-mind anymore. That changed with this album. When I heard this album I wasn’t sure who was I listening to at the time. It was such a high energy, hard rock album that I could not believe it was Rick Springfield. He was a pop star not a rock star.
SDAA has 17 tracks that range from 56 seconds to 3 minutes & 42 seconds. This makes the album scream along at a fast pace and it will take you through every emotion mentioned in the album title. Anger, however, seems to be the leading emotion on the album and I am okay with that.
The opening song, “Perfect”, comes rocking out of the gate and you realize this is not the same old Rick Springfield you grew up with. There is more of an edge and roughness to his style and voice. That energy continues straight into the next song “I’ll Make You Happy” and gives you no time to breathe.
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