Track Listing

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
11. Elvis Cadillac
12. Road To Emmaus
13. I Was There

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
11. I Was There
12. CreditsBonus MP3s for download to MP3 player

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74897 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-06
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition

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.

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

Customer Reviews

I miss the magic !
I own everything Rickie has recorded and think she is one of the most talented musicians on the planet. Her debut album, and Pirates were two of the best albums I have ever heard. I miss the great writing, orchestrations and great playing of some of the worlds finest musicians ( Steve Gadd, Chuck Findley etc. ) I hope she can find it in herself to come full circle and create the kind of magic that she used to.

"Kurzen fur Maria"
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....

Donkey Ride
When this CD was released, I ran out & bought it as soon as it hit the store shelves in our town. I read a glowing review that told me Rickie Lee was exploring spiritual themes on a very different disc. I opted for the DVD 2-disc version. First, I watched the DVD. I think this DVD would be good for musicians looking to see how a seasoned veteran works in the studio. We see Rickie in very informal attire looking like a working musician. It's not particularly entertaining, however. Perhaps watching her in concert performing this set would have had more polish. It is neat to see Rickie in her home office where she obviously works, but the song takes are not entrancing. The material on the disc has grown on me. I think I would describe the material more as "religious" rather than "spiritual." There isn't a lot here about values or lessons. This is more like a Jesus biography. On one of the more accessible tracks, "Elvis Cadillac," Rickie Lee free associates with her strumming putting a smile on your face, "Standing in the doorway, I'm happy living here. Everyone tries so hard to sing a song no one can hear." "Circle in the Sand" is probably the best song that stands alone on its own with its driving beat and Rickie's expressive vocals, "When an angel picked me up, she called my name; There is charity, but says power, money & fame." Much of the rest of the disc is enjoyable, but rather formless. "It Hurts" & "Donkey Ride" do hurt to listen to. While I enjoy Rickie Lee's thematic exploration, the music just doesn't work very well. Rickie Lee is a terrific singer. I'm glad to have this chapter of her work, but it won't be the one that goes into the changer frequently. The DVD may never be seen again. Taxi.