| You Must Ask the Heart | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Jonathan Richman |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | 1995 |
| Label: | Rounder |
| Producer: | Brennan Totten |
| Prev Title: | ¡Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar! |
| Prev Year: | 1994 |
| Next Title: | A Plea for Tenderness |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
You Must Ask the Heart is an album by the American musician Jonathan Richman, released in 1995.[1] [2] Richman supported the album with a North American tour.[3] He included a more up-tempo version of "To Hide a Little Thought" on 1996's Surrender to Jonathan![4]
Richman recorded the album in a casual manner, using whichever musicians could make the sessions and figuring out the sound based on the personnel.[5] He emphasized keyboards on You Must Ask the Heart.[6] "Just Because I'm Irish" is a duet with Julia Sweeney; the pair first performed it on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[7] [8] "The Rose" is a cover of the Amanda McBroom composition. The tribute to Walter Johnson is sung a cappella. The cover of Tom Waits's "The Heart of Saturday Night" is performed in a rockabilly style.[9] "Nothing Can Change This Love" was originally performed by Sam Cooke.[10] "Amorcito Corazon" was inspired by Richman's frequent tours of Spain.[11] "Let Her Go into the Darkness" is about a girlfriend returning to an alcoholic ex.[12]
The Edmonton Journal noted the "hummable hooks, warmly expressed obsessions and the usual romantic commentary."[7] Trouser Press concluded: "Employing innocence like an instrument, Richman turns the joyfully spirited You Must Ask the Heart into an amazing feat."[13] The Gazette called the album another of Richman's "dippy little records, full of oddball observations, droll humor and adenoidal singing."[14]
The Chicago Tribune stated that, "beneath his naive facade, Richman is a canny social observer who can cut to the heart of a gamut of emotions and yearnings." Entertainment Weekly determined that "emotional complexities seem beyond his reach, making this monotonous and insubstantial." The Houston Press opined: "Self-conscious perhaps, but never self-indulgent, his songs don't get mired in the vague soul purging that makes many singer-songwriters insufferable."[15]
AllMusic wrote that "Richman sings with remarkable energy and honesty; even after dozens of records, his joyful spirit remains undimmed."