Pirates

Rickie Lee Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KL7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,706 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Question, a Masterpiece, January 7, 2003

By 

Karl Miller "kemspeaks" (Phoenixville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pirates (Audio CD)

Rickie Lee Jones' 2nd album marked a radical departure for the beret wearing, Jack Daniel's swilling Coolsville resident. Piano-based and Steely Dan influenced, "Pirates" remains, over 20 years after it's release one of the most haunting pieces of music ever recorded. It marked a creative highwater mark that (unfortunately for all), Rickie has never again reached.
From the opening notes of "We Belong Together", it's clear that this work is much sadder than her debut. "We Belong Together" is every great male-rocking-loner song, with incredible shifts of tempo and texture, and a vocal performance that is gut-wrenching. "Living It Up", with its "Wild, and the Only Ones" chorus and awesome bridge (thanks to a great contribution from Sal Bernardi, Rickie's ex-lover and long term accompaniest), is the musical equivalent of the solemn Brassai photograph that adorns the album's cover. "Woody and Dutch" is the keyboard cousin of Rickie's "Danny's All Star Joint", with caramel coated basslines and cotton candy spun call and response vocals. "Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)" reminds you of why horns are so sadly missed in this era of teen vocals and electronic instrumentation. And the genuine masterpiece of this album, "Traces Of The Western Slope" is a near 8 minute tribute to distant ghosts, vacant eyed dope fiends and sexual awakening, played out with Becker and Fagen inspired instrumentation and Tom Waits like lyrics. No woman has ever written, or laid down a jazz/rock classic that comes near this song.
Between birthdays, Christmas gifts, and replacing copies that I have owned (on 3 different formats), I have probably purchased at least 30 copies of this disc over the years. And yet I still don't feel like I have fully compensated Rickie Lee for the contribution she made to my muscial education with this album. It has grown with me like an old friend, and remains to this day an all time favorite.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rickie Lee's Masterwork, June 23, 2000

By 

J. Collins "Paradise Bar & Grill" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pirates (Audio CD)

"Pirates" is a difficult but musically (and emotionally) rewarding album. I believe that it sounds better as time goes by, though unlike some Pop albums, "Pirates" ages like a fine wine, not cheese. To be fair, this isn't truly a Pop album, but given the imprecision of most stylistic terms (Rock, Soul, etc.) and the wide range of musical influences here, it would seem to become popular music by default.

Like Rickie's self-titled debut, "Pirates" is a collection of mostly acoustic music, with snatches of Folk, R&B, Blues, Torch, and what is now called "New Age" material. Then (1981) as now, it is a unique combination of lyrical prose and inspired musical drama. The tone is often somber and dead serious, but there are moments where a "good time" vibe ("Woody and Dutch...") and Rickie's self-effacing humor ("A Lucky Guy") lighten the mood.

Though a superficial reading of this album would suggest it's about Rickie's failed affair with mentor/lover Tom Waits, the topical and emotional focus of this album would seem to be solitude...reflections on the state of being alone and adrift. And though Rickie's phrasing/vocalizing is atypical for Pop music, the directness and passion of her performance is shiver-inducing. Attentive (and willing) listeners will experience feelings beyond empathy, as if the pain and disillusion comes from within and not from Rickie's words and music. To put it more succinctly, only a dim-witted lout or cynical misanthrope could listen to this album and not be moved in some way.

The "best" of this album is hard to define, as different listeners will have different songs that define their listening experience. For me, there are four selections that stand out. "Living It Up" is a story lyric written over a gorgeous, forlorn piano motif. "Skeletons," another spare musical tale, is a heart-rending true story set to gentle piano and string accompaniment. "Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)" is the album's centerpiece; like a page from the book of her soul, the changing tempos and emotional dynamics of this song seem to reveal Rickie's love of life, despite the fact that her "pirate" has yet to spirit her away. At first, "A Lucky Guy" would seem to be about the kind of carefree, irresponsible person who charms their way into a person's life, then leaves as soon as their spirit moves them. But as the song comes to a close, it's Rickie herself who has become the "lucky guy," if only to spare herself shame and hurt. There is pain and regret in her voice, but she is not a victim.

Though the lives and experiences of Rickie's street-wise, Bohemian protagonists may seem far removed from the lives of her fans, the directness of her observations is all-inclusive. "Pirates" is the kind of minor key masterwork that sounds intensely personal, just as it offers a glimpse at the universe of human emotion.

-Mic

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Rickie Lee Jones, January 11, 2002

By 

Darren (Jersey Shore, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pirates (Audio CD)

Honestly, her voice got on my nerves back in the late 70's when she debuted with her popular "Chuck E's in Love", so I never really listened to her later material. It wasn't until my musical taste widened and matured that I later went back to some of her compositions and discovered what a very talented lyricist and storyteller Rickie Lee Jones is.

Although Pirates was released back in 1981, it remains one of my favorite CDs. It displays Rickie's master songwriting ability and proves her a musical storyteller of high emotional intensity and clarity. Her urban stories are set in a 'groovy', bohemian and vivid blend of folk, blues and jazzy musical compositions. In addition, one selection features jazz artists David Sanborn on alto sax and Randy Brecker on the trumpet and flugelhorn.

If you have never listened to Rickie Lee Jones, I highly suggest Pirates as it will move you emotionally and may even get your head shaking, feet stomping and fingers snapping.