Rickie Lee Jones - The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard (2006 and February 6, 2007)

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Rickie Lee Jones - The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard (2006 and February 6, 2007)

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Rickie Lee Jones - The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard (2006 and February 6, 2007)

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ETHEREAL, TRANSCENDENT - SUPERB IN EVERY WAY WITH REPEATED LISTENS TRANSFORMS YOU
This review is from: The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Fold-out Digipak with 14 page booklet] (Audio CD)
This CD is the most welcome CD of Rickie in so many years. This CD in it's right time (WHICH IS NOW - October 2008) would be a rock staple. I've been listening it to it since early spring of 2007 - SO WAKE UP RADIO, WAKE UP!! It even contains a few pop gems; but her introspective album is one of her most daring, thematically and musically. This is a very intimate, immediate CD. You feel like you are listening to her in your bedroom one on one at times. Telling you - "you" personally a story just for "you" to hear.
It is not like her other super grand productions, but it is just as brilliant and genius, if not more so. It is a soul experience. It moves you. Rickie is at an absolute apex; a very high point, an extreme time of realism in her creativity - she is most possibly at the highest level of her craft. It's evident and history making. The producers did an amazing job as well along with the musicians. They really can't be looked over, their perfect performances along with Rickie truly show a chemistry that can't be ignored or thought of as chance. There is a connection here. On a first listen I was already seduced, but after repeated listens you become part of the journey, part of the realization.
I love every song on this CD - but there are some grand standouts but don't let that discount any of the others. You'll see in time, every song will write itself on your soul. Plant a memory with the music in your psyche.
People with excellent music systems will like the lo-fi/hi-fi realism. It is recorded in a way to capture true performance as it is. Live performances in a studio setting. In headphones the CD sounds real cool. As a musician and engineer, I appreciate the unique 2 and 3 dimensional sound, that just demonstrates this was a very well thought out recording and production as real as it is.
I have never been repeatedly awed when listening to a record like this except for a few instances (Prince, Sly & The Family Stone and Rolling Stones) where the artist becomes so intimate you "feel" the performance. The execution of this CD was superb and really is way beyond anything that has come out by any artist in terms of something quintessential in decades.
The gems I love are first and foremost "Seventh Day" (a song seemed to be dedicated to her daughter, you can tell how much Rickie loves her - what a lucky child, this song is full of so much love and respect), "I Was There", and "Nobody Knows My Name". Although every song on this CD is a gem, it will take repeated listens to see the true beauty of each work. Some CDs hit instantly, this is like the finest of wines, you acquire the flavor and then become captured by it's essence it's aroma - if I could compare. It is a work of art, merit and spirit. A recording of the most highest honor and immediacy. I highly recommend this album. It will be one of the most unique and most rewarding listening experiences in your collection that you will cherish more and more in time. It is a classic, a manifesto undiscovered by the masses, but no less powerful or relevant.
This is an album that is a mystical experience. I think this is a great CD to listen to in the dark with many candles or by a fireplace, open the windows and hope for a light breeze, sit back - and do what you do - and enjoy one of the greatest albums ever made. Repeated listens will reward the listener and seduce you back time after time. Close your eyes and LISTEN, FEEL and EXPERIENCE. As usual Rickie's lyrics are so unique, so deep, so right on.
A cool CD as well to play while driving by the ocean California Pacific Coast Highway 1 on a cloudy day with the waves cresting with whitecaps. Just a wonderful vibe and message, and the music is just so right. When driving while listening to her music becomes like a mystical ritual, a religious experience. It's a connection. A light. Rickie's performances are so heartfelt and personal. Check it out.