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 Rickie Lee Jones "The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard" "...the moving, jubilantly eccentric The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard might be the best of her career....potent musical frameworks, from the ragged, Velvet Underground-like anthem that starts it off to the free-flowing groove that ends it on a note of Astral Weeks trembling emotion." “…the most rocked-up music of her almost-30-year career.” “…enriched by roadhouse rhythms and her distinctive whiskey-soaked voice… vintage Rickie, and way more rocking than your average Sunday-school primer.” “This majestic, thoughtful collection, among Jones’s best, is the kind that only comes with age, when an artist has something pressing on her mind.” "...nothing short of a mystical musical masterpiece." "...some of Jones's finest vocals. When she sings on the first single, ‘Falling Up,’ of the painful letting go of old routines and of the unexpected ascension into new planes, she could be describing her own artistic reinvention as much as a spiritual experience." “…veers from punk rock minimalism to ethereal, whispery rock… Jones neither preaches nor proselytizes, but instead witnesses, through Jesus’ eyes, her ever-evolving faith.” "...full of thought-provoking meditations. On songs like ‘Gethsemane’ and ‘It Hurts,’ Jones manages to mingle contemporary realities of televangelists, poverty and alienation with spiritual archetypes of suffering, forgiveness and redemption.” "...the most startling work of her career...a compelling rock record that isn't preachy and has rightly been compared to Patti Smith's Horses and Van Morrison's Astral Weeks for its raw intensity and emotional honesty." "Mature, inspired, confident." "Jones' new songs are quite literally private prayers. It takes the coalescence of her still astonishingly expressive voice and a sympathetic, locked-tight band to transform those confessions. When that happens, resurrection isn't too strong a word for describe her return." “What a record this is: Rickie Lee in the raw, scatting, squawking and whispering through 12 songs of angry rock and unnervingly stark arrangements… Strangely accessible and highly addictive, it’s her best work in three decades.” "Jones' new songs are quite literally private prayers. It takes the coalescence of her still astonishingly expressive voice and a sympathetic, locked-tight band to transform those confessions. When that happens, resurrection isn't too strong a word for describe her return." "The improvisatory, loose-jointed approach Jones chooses makes songs such as 'Elvis Cadillac'resonate more like the soul- and gospel-inspired rock of early-’70s Van Morrison than anything remotely preachy....She tackles spiritual themes in ways that are anything but obvious, embracing the mystery while letting it be." "...melodically and lyrically it's some of the richest, most instantly gratifying work in her discography.... Its [the album's] cousins, actually, are Van Morrison's great soul-searching works, from Astral Weeks to Hymns to the Silence. It's every bit as unrelentingly focused, infused with both blood and spirit, and incredibly uplifting in ways you can't quite pinpoint." "Jones' voice sounds stronger than ever—an instrument in its own right—and the overall sound is weirdly experimental, yet accessible. She sings about Jesus' last night from his perspective in the eerily beautiful ‘Gethsemane. She sings about the challenge of praying in a modern world on Where I Like it Best.’ She sings about riding around in heaven in ‘Elvis Cadillac.’ And it's pure joy to listen." "...this may be her finest work to date. It's certainly the best album of 2007 thus far." "... it's musically audacious and adventurous, mixing mysticism and blue-eyed soul with jarring, thrilling rock textures." “’Where I Like It Best’ is Jones at her finest, homeless and dying outside of a crowded restaurant, wondering how one ‘can pray in a world like this.’ Buoyed by gentle acoustic picking, she howls and moans in a voice that’s at once broken and assured. ‘I Was There’ is nearly as arresting, Jones delivering a stream-of-conscious deathbed rant amidst genuflecting notes.” "...rich, challenging...songs that are energetic and catchy...a lovely spiritual energy..." "...we must make special mention of Rickie Lee Jones, whose forthcoming disc, The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard’ is as fine as anything she's made since that late-'70s stuff people mostly still associate her with." "... rocks in a way Jones never has before, building from the Rolling Stones/Velvet Underground riffs of ‘Nobody Knows My Name,’ ‘Tried to Be a Man’ and ‘Elvis Cadillac,’ which provides poignant commentary on modern deities. This Sermon is a real conversation piece." "...the album is among Jones’s most deeply personal and emotionally intense. She plays all sorts of instruments here–guitar, keyboards, dulcimer, percussion, etc. – but the most affecting passages come from her singular voice. From ethereal and fragile to stentorian and tough, it conveys feelings in words and phrases and sometimes just sounds, as though actual words have failed. Although the songs in part channel the words of Christ, they’re also naturally entwined with her own perceptions and emotions, so the collection never feels preachy but more like a quest." "...a real sense of creative spark at its heart, Sermon is a worthy entry into the Book of Rickie Lee." "The two-time Grammy winner may be the most brilliant and distinctive vocalist since Billie Holiday...Jones' genius here, aside from her voice and her wonderfully odd phrasing, is in being able to strip away the baggage that has accumulated around Christianity and recast Christ's life and message in a completely fresh and compelling way." "...often brilliant...the lyrics are revealing and inspired...The improvisational element that has always informed Jones' approach invigorates Exposition Boulevard...." "...her first rock record. Languid and tough, it evokes the Velvet Underground and Neil Young." "Rickie Lee Jones has turned her latest music into a meditation. With its chant-like vocals, ascetic lyrics and hyper-repetitive riffs, the cuts on The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard seem as much incantations as songs, like a soundtrack for channeling a force from beyond." "...a disc that's unflaggingly challenging--and unfailingly rewarding..." " ...it rocks, it rolls, it swings and strolls...Sermon on Exposition Boulevard feels raw and immediate, and most of all, it rings true. The music here was made because Jones had to make it...The songs on this record feel like they come from the street in order to go back there, not to witness or testify, but simply to be there as a witness to life in the process of spending itself...a masterpiece." "As usual, her lyrics showcase what’s on her mind with a brash insight and daring that often posses the questions we all want to ask, but won’t or can’t. The lone instrumental, ‘Road to Emmaus’ teeters like cherry blossoms falling in the dark before the power of a coming typhoon, while ‘Tried to Be a Man’ gathers in that wind-blown energy with a rumbling under-current, saw cut guitars and Jones’ anguished, whispered growl. Throughout, there is a dark undercurrent, a mellow abrasion and slanted instrumentation—her husky voice included—that makes this repeat listen." "...Jones mines a raw Americana vibe, but adds her own stamp to the proceedings. The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard succeeds in tackling religion and religious imagery... with complete class." "...an opus that's equal parts earthy and dour, soul-searching and uplifting." “A deft musician whose body of work reflects an artist in a state of constant exploration, Jones' new record, The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard, displays an edgier side to this multi-faceted performer. It rocks, in fact. She's a consummate storyteller and a brilliant lyricist.” "It's a pleasure just to hear Jones wailing in ‘It Hurts to Be Here,’ or her throaty stage whisper over the distorted guitar in ‘Tried to Be a Man.’ A lighter number on the album, ‘Elvis Cadillac,’ harks back to the snappy pop sound that made Jones a star in the late '70s." "...an exquisite musical journey..." "...Sermon is a mystical masterpiece that works in service to the miracle and purity of beauty; it worships beats as much as language..." "The new material, which is lyrically compelling and sonically hard driving, is among the strongest in Jones' long career." |
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