For years, Rick Springfield has been a guilty pleasure of mine. In my opinion, he is one of the most under-appreciated singer/songwriters in the business. Over the last decade, his latter day releases have been some of his most engaging; merging big, bold ideas into radio-friendly power pop tunes.

In 2013, Rick’s credibility was given a boost by Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters’ lead singer had Springfield perform a new song on Sound City, the soundtrack to the documentary on the fabled San Fernando recording studio. Rick continued the momentum by landing a part, opposite Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, in the film Rickie & The Flash and then, co-starred in HBO ‘s second season of True Detective. Now Rick Springfield adds his new album, Rocket Science to his career resurgence.

Rocket Science is Rick Springfield’s 18th studio album and is made up of 13 country/pop infused songs. Normally, hearing the word country would scare me, but Rick has successfully merged the two musical styles into a very entertaining album. The inclusion of the country element has given his latest release some joie de vivre that has not been prevalent on a Rick Springfield record for some time.

Rocket Science from start to finish boasts some of Rick Springfield’s catchiest tunes ever, delivering hook after hook after hook. Highlights include the album opener: Light This Party Up, the up tempo: Down, blues rocker: Miss Mayhem, the heartfelt ballad: Let Me In and the R&B acoustic driven: (I Wish I Had A) Concrete Heart.

It may take a few listens before wrapping your head around the country element on the album, but once you do, you’ll be hooked. The album is well played, written and sounds like a multi-million dollar production.

It’s not rocket science, to realize that Rick Springfield’s latest release is just a great album that can kick start any party or simply get you motivated for your Monday morning trek to work.