RICKIE LEE RICKIE

a buyer’s guide to... Rickie Lee Jones

In these times of diluttantes (sic) was cheating somewhat having UNDISPUTED CLASSICS Norah, Catherine Zeta and even changed her name from Mendoza. fictional Bridget, you’d be for- It follows then that we must given for wondering whether the be discussing the self-proclaimed devil has packed it in with the “lower-middle-class-hillbilly-hip- Miss Joneses of today. Keeping ster” runaway, former alcoholic up with them now means noth- drugged out sylph but now Du- ing more than propping up a bya-bashing mum, the Duchess cheap IKEA coffee table, flick- Of Coolsville herself. With the ing through the pages of OK! or first ever anthology of her 26-year wearing enormous greying knick- career recently hitting the shelves, ers that even your granny would lovingly packaged thanks to those gladly see torched. generous folks at Rhino, Alan Rickie Lee Jones How different it all seemed Pedder takes the time to reassess Warner Bros., 1979 just a quarter century ago, with the canon of a true inspiration The rare sound of an already fully-formed not one but two iconic purvey- – from 1979’s revolutionary self- artist busting out in style, both musically ors of the surname. We’re talk- titled debut through to the present and in a sartorial sense. The beret marked ing Grace and Rickie Lee people! day, Rickie Lee Jones has paved her out as an idiosyncratic beatnik with so- – although the former, a statu- the way for artists like Tori Amos, phisticated tastes. A Grammy for Best New Artist followed, and while Jones could have esque and slightly unhinged 70s Stina Nordenstam, Jewel and Fiona easily repeated the same formula, her artistic disco diva turned 80s new-waver, Apple to name but a few. sensibilites demanded more of her and us.

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RICKIE LEE RICKIE

WORTH HAVING TWO FOR THE FANS

Pirates Warner Bros., 1981 Mostly written after a devastating split from Pop Pop The Magazine paramour Tom Waits, Pirates nakedly holds Geffen, 1991 Warner Bros., 1984 that relationship to account. Arguably her ultimate distillation, more so even than her Where Jones’ isolation got the better of her. debut. Gone is some of that record’s naïveté Not quite a concept album, but certainly one and in its place lies a richness of experience in which the theme of alienation is predomi- and wilfully abstruse lyricism that bewitches nant. Unsettling but strangely filled with the mind as much as the ears. hope, The Magazine is a demanding listen, yet for something so self-conciously arty, for the most part, it’s surprisingly bland. PRETTY DAMN SPECIAL

It’s Like This Artemis, 2000

Similar in conceit, these two albums both find their joy in jazzy interpretations of an aston- ishingly diverse range of originals. From Jimi Hendrix to Broadway via The Beatles and Marvin Gaye, Rickie Lee exhibits a vocal dex- terity akin to Billie Holiday in a mischievous mood. Joe Jackson and Ben Folds make Traffic From Paradise Flying Cowboys Geffen, 1993 Geffen, 1989 welcome contributions to the later record, boosting Jones’s gentle keening vocals. A near Recorded, mixed and produced by an all- Ten years on from her debut, Jones had masterclass in how to cover songs in style. regained some of the childish exuberance of female crew, this is a mostly disappointing that album and merged it with the more com- and vague collection of songs. Aside from plex song forms she’d relied upon in the inter- the stunning Stewart’s Coat and a passable vening years. Though the songs arguably be- cover of Bowie’s Rebel Rebel, too many of the tray a long-held fascination with Laura Nyro, ideas here fail to gel. few could really argue that as a drawback.

FOR COMPLETISTS ONLY

The Evening Of My Best Day V2, 2003 Though never really a political commentator in the past, Jones broke a 6-year songwriting drought to express her disdain for US Presi- Girl At Her Volcano EP dent George W. Bush and his entire admin- Warner Bros., 1983 istration, infusing the record with a righteous Ghostyhead indignance. It’s not all Republican-bashing, Warner Bros., 1997 Her first set of covers and live record in one however – this finely textured and graceful was originally sold on 10” vinyl at Jones’s album touches on her personal struggles too. Seemingly inspired by Tricky and Martina insistence. While these unembellished and Easily her best since Flying Cowboys. Topley-Bird, Jones tried her hand at repetitive whisperingly intimate songs may have baf- trip-hop noodling overlaid with mostly opaque fled her earlier fans (those who survived the spoken word passages. Unsurprisingly, it’s bloodletting of Pirates), they have weathered Also recommended: Naked Songs (Reprise, mostly crap. The novelty of hearing her in this time well and still hold plenty of impact. 1995) and Live At Red Rocks (Artemis 2001) context wears off faster than cheap lipstick.

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