Working Class Dog [25th Anniversary Edition] (CD - 1981)

Personnel: Rick Springfield (guitar, background vocals); Rick Springfield (vocals, bass guitar); Neil Geraldo (guitar, bass guitar); Gabriel Katon, Gabriel Katona (keyboards); Jack White (drums); Tom Kelly (background vocals); Robben Ford (guitar); Mike Baird (drums).

Liner Note Author: Ken Sharp.

Recording information: Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

Photographer: Tom Gibson.

Arranger: Larry Muhoberac.

Rick Springfield may have been a soap-opera heartthrob, but he started out as a rocker in his native Australia, and his 1981 U.S. breakthrough, WORKING CLASS DOG, is a power-pop classic. "Jessie's Girl" remains a part of the collective pop consciousness decades after its release, and the mix of pop and New Wave-tinged rock on "I've Done Everything For You" is just as credible as anything Matthew Sweet has ever turned out. The addition of two previously unreleased tunes and a bare-bones demo of "Jessie's Girl" sweeten the pot for the Legacy reissue of this benchmark '80s pop gem.

Rick Springfield may have been a soap-opera heartthrob, but he started out as a rocker in his native Australia, and his 1981 U.S. breakthrough, WORKING CLASS DOG, is a power-pop classic. "Jessie's Girl" remains a part of the collective pop consciousness decades after its release, and the mix of pop and New Wave-tinged rock on "I've Done Everything For You" is just as credible as anything Matthew Sweet has ever turned out.

The addition of two previously unreleased tunes and a bare-bones demo of "Jessie's Girl" sweeten the pot for the Legacy reissue of this benchmark '80s pop gem.

Forget that Rick Springfield was a soap star for a moment and listen to his music, because he made some of the finest guitar-driven mainstream pop/rock of the early '80s. Working Class Dog is his finest moment, filled with expertly crafted pop songs, highlighted by the massive hit "Jessie's Girl." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Forget that Rick Springfield was a soap star for a moment and listen to his music, because he made some of the finest guitar-driven mainstream pop/rock of the early '80s. Working Class Dog is his finest moment, filled with expertly crafted pop songs and highlighted by the massive hit "Jessie's Girl." [The 2006 25th Anniversary Edition features three bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize