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

Rickie Lee Jones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: New West Records
• ASIN: B000L211NW
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,124 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Nobody Knows My Name

2. Gethsemane

3. Falling Up

4. Lamp Of My Body

5. It Hurts

6. Where I Like It Best

7. Tried To Be A Man

8. Circle In The Sand

9. Donkey Ride

10. 7th Day

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. How It All Began

2. Turn It Down

3. Late Night Song

4. Threat Of The Bomb

5. Tried To Be A Man

6. The Mystery Box

7. It Hurts

8. I Have Another Day

9. Caught Me In It's Ray

10. Haven't Had Anything To Eat Today

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fans of Rickie Lee Jones and Jesus Christ can decide whether this devotional music is rapturously spiritual or deliriously strange. It sounds like nothing Jones has previously released, or anything characterizable as contemporary Christian. Instead, her voice soars and wobbles through repetitive, stream-of-consciousness incantations over rhythmic throbs and pulses. On "Where I Like It Best," Jones testifies to the power of private prayer (while seeming to cast churchgoers as hypocrites). The feral distortions of "Tried to Be a Man" recall some of the textures (if not the themes) of her former boyfriend Tom Waits, while the acoustic setting of "Donkey Ride" features guitar tunings that might make Sonic Youth wince and "Elvis Cadillac" conjures a singular vision of heaven. At close to eight and a half minutes, the closing "I Was There" seems to follow Van Morrison into the mystic. Some of this music is oddly affecting; much of it is merely odd. --Don McLeese

Product 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Kurzen fur Maria", February 6, 2007

By 

o dubhthaigh (north rustico, pei, canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record] (Audio CD)

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....

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be put off, February 9, 2007

By 

Ralph from Brooklyn - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record] (Audio CD)

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.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never a dissapointment - RLJ is a treasure, February 13, 2007

By 

John Poole (Rehoboth, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sermon On Exposition Blvd. [Deluxe Limited Edition --- includes 5.1 SACD version and 40 minute DVD of making the record] (Audio CD)

I've had this disc now for a few days, and I am echoing the sentiments of others that have already posted here. It is gripping, and I can't stop listening. I have no awareness of the writings that this work stems from, but once again, Rickie has given me more provocative images of characters and stories to ponder through her words and music. This is not to be missed. No other artist has the uncanny ability to present such wonderful imagery through song. Each new disc that she puts out adds to her already rich catalog. I can't wait to see her perform!