Search - Rickie Lee Jones :: The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record]

The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record]
Rickie Lee Jones
The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record]
Genres: Folk, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
  •  Track Listings (12) - Disc #2

THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD, the new album by Rickie Lee Jones and her first for New West Records, is a beauty--soul-satisfying and sonically unique. RICKIE LEE sounds completely tapped in, alive and vital, head...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Rickie Lee Jones
Title: The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record]
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: New West Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2007
Re-Release Date: 2/6/2007
Album Type: Limited Edition
Genres: Folk, Pop, Rock
Styles: Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriters
Number of Discs: 2
SwapaCD Credits: 2
UPC: 607396611225

Synopsis

Album Description
THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD, the new album by Rickie Lee Jones and her first for New West Records, is a beauty--soul-satisfying and sonically unique. RICKIE LEE sounds completely tapped in, alive and vital, heading down some mighty interesting roads and discovering new magical essences. Lots of creative sparks here--plenty of them. She sounds like she's going through a transformation throughout the album in a way that's reminiscent of Van Morrison's performances on his classic album Astral Weeks. This is the Special Edition of Rickie Lee Jones' new CD, Sermon On Exposition Boulevard. It contains an SACD version of the CD, with both a High Resolution Stereo and 5.1 Surround Mix. It includes a bonus DVD with 40 minutes of behind the scenes footage. Also included in this Special Edition are High Resolution MP3s of the entire CD to download to your favorite MP3 player, as well as an expanded booklet with extra photos, artwork and liner notes.
 

CD Reviews

"Kurzen fur Maria"
o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 02/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"A long time ago, my German teacher, Rev Charles Knapp, had us read Heinrich Boll's "Kurzen fur Maria" - a profoundly moving story that in German delivered one of the most profound mystical punches I have ever felt: the protagonist observes a woman who eneters the Church every day and lights a candle before the statue of the Mary. She then kneels and prays quietly, and at some point takes her leave. It breaks the protagonist's heart as he wishes he could pray like that. Knapp made it clear that that sentiment that one would wish that one could pray with such simple piety contained more reverence for the private places in the soul, and likely came closer to gaining God's ear, than all the prostrations and caterwauling that passes for religious fervour.



Well, get yourself ready, as this disc accomplishes the very same poetic piety in recasting the New Testament through the eyes of RLJ and her characters. The music is terrific - in fact some of her best ever. The musicians are so spot on, that it seems almost as though it was done on the first take. Embracing an aesthetic that you can hear in bands like God Speed You Black Emperor and Explosions in the Sky, Jones and her colleagues move organically and propulsively forward in what seems simple but in fact portends a sublime subtlety that is absent from almost every other songwriter out there. No one has addressed spirituality like this since Teilhard or Heidegger: the root of our grace is hidden in those quiet places that need to be uncovered from all the debris of our existence. RLJ catalogues the debris well enough and then points directly to who has seemed to pick up the trail and followed that core message to love all things, to forgive, to show compassion.



I wish I could write a song like these...."
Don't be put off
Ralph from Brooklyn | 02/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Please don't be put off by the subject matter of this cd. It is not a Christian rock album, nor is Rickie Lee born again. Yes, it's based on a book that supposedly takes the words of Jesus out of the context of the Bible and tries to show the words for what they really mean, seperate from all the evangelical/born again wanna be rich messiahs out there.



It is very much anti organized religion, pro personnel spirituality. This is brave, whatever you think. And the music is sublime. She channels everyone form Van Morrision to PAtti Smith to drone rock to freak folk (hate that term) to LA rock. If Jesus is in there, he's on the street with a beer blasting punk rock. As a long standing agnostic, I have no problem listening to Rickie Lee's subject matter, especially when it's so poetic. And I never have a problem with music that sways, rocks and rolls like this. Elvis Cadillac would be a hit single in a perfect world, and this is Rickie Lee's best album since Traffic From Paradise. Give it a try before judging it."
"THE SERMON ON EXPOSITION BOULEVARD": RICKIE LEE JONES CONTI
Johnny-Nuz | 02/15/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I've been listening to Rickie Lee Jones' latest album, "The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard" for one week now and this I can say with absolute certainty: it is 1) an awesome effort in need of several listenings before any judgements can be made and 2) worthy of the necessary time spent with it because 3) it just gets better and better with each listening. Why? Because even though it sounds so sparse and "low-fi" (as the liner notes point out), there really is so much going on on several levels - lyrically, musically, vocally.



Another thing I can say with certainty is this: once again Rickie Lee Jones has just amazed me and blown me away with her artisitic resolve to never repeat herself. "The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard" sounds nothing like her last great release, "The Evening Of My Best Day", which is so different from "Ghostyhead", which is light-years away from anything I ever expected her to do, and etc. on down through what I consider to be some of the best albums I've ever heard: "Traffic From Paradise", "Flying Cowboys", "The Magazine", "Pirates", and her eponymously titled debut. She's always different, always doing something unexpected, always showing herself to be one of the most unique and interesting artists with whom I've ever spent my time, always proving herself great.



"The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard" rocks in a folky, jazzy, punk way. It is raw and earthy, yet, indeed, heavenly inspired. You've probably already read the comparisons to Van Morrison and Patti Smith, but I want to say this with utter clarity: Rickie Lee Jones is her own artist, a force to be reckoned with on her own terms. I adore her for that.



So, I'm not through with this new "Sermon On Exposition Boulevard" yet; because another thing of which I'm certain is this: these songs, based on translations of the words of Jesus Christ, may (or may not) help bring further revelations to me regarding my own spirituality (as I gather and assimilate input while on my own earthly journey); but insofar as the artistry of Rickie Lee Jones is concerned, the fascinating (and, at the very least, respectful) nature of this work will further my admiration for her ability to convey her own muse's meandering, offbeat ways to me."