Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones

The breezy melodies and jazz stylings of Rickie Lee Jones's debut album are usually found in the works of more mature pop artists. It's only the exuberance of Jones's often cackling voice that reminds you that a 23-year-old is at the controls. And Jones's "little girl lost" perspective, while hanging out in mid-1970s Los Angeles with neo-Beat songwriters-barroom troubadours Tom Waits and Chuck E. Weiss, makes for colorful storytelling. In fact, her tale about Weiss, "Chuck E.'s in Love," hit the Top 10. But there's a lot more elegant stuff here: "Last Chance Texaco" is a soaring ballad about automobiles and broken hearts, and the Sinatra-esque "After Hours" features a lonely Jones singing to a lamppost. --Bill Crandall Amazon.com

Where the heck did Ricky Lee Jones go???

This is another nostaglia purchase for me. I remember when this album came out, and how every one was abuzz with how great Ricky Lee Jones' voice was, and how different she was to the music scene. The album has 2 really great songs on it, that I remember distincly, Chuck E's in Love and Danny's all-star joint, were played all the time on the radio. The other songs are nice, but I find myself skipping over them. She was a hit, then she was gone.......so I ask you.....where the heck did Ricky Lee Jones go?????? December 21, 2008

Young Blood Debut

This is an exceptional album, something one would expect of an established ,eperienced and mature, elder artist, not a fresh , young 23yr old.
To be 23yrs old, and make a debut album of this caliber is simply astonishing. It has everything a listener could want and it has it in spades:

a.Well crafted songs with great story lines and characters
b.Brilliant musicianship.....listen to that funky bass in the song Young Blood, or the romp in Danny's All Star Joint, or the groove in Weasel and the White Boys Cool.
c. Emotion.....the opening notes on the piano in track 2 is enough to make one cry.....or the lament in the song Company......I have actually at times found this album hard listening as it can be so emotive.
d. A great singer, with an original style....RLJ is not afraid to be just hersself, she doesn't try to be like anyone else or sound like anyone else.

Walter Becker is reported to have been hugely impressed, when later producing one of her future albums, by her spontanaety and simplicity in her approach to recording her albums, and indeed , it reportedly was a revelation to him after the endless repitition in the Steely Dan recording sessions.

That spontaneous, simple approach is evident here in an album that is emotive, warm ,sincere, fun, but also sophisticated without being interllectual or pretentious.
Nearly 30yrs after its debut it is still great listening, fresh, enjoyable and relevant.
Highly recommended.....

Oh, and um, hats off to the reviewer who titled his review Doyt, Doyt, Doyt......well done! Its in reference to a sort of scat that RLJ does in the song Young Blood...its brilliant ...that alone is reason enough to buy the album!
October 15, 2008

An underrated but great American singer, good album!

I have heard very little music from Rickie Lee Jones. But when I got this album, I found it to be a great piece of music! A lot of famous musicians were involved in it (Jeff Porcaro, Randy Newman and Michael McDonald among others).

A good choice for any American and Singer/Songwriter collector!
November 29, 2007

Doyt, Doyt!

I discovered this album just before "Doyt Doyt!" began appearing on t-shirts in and around Toronto, and was so pleased to see it get popular. I remember her singing selections on "Saturday Night Live" too.

I had it on vinyl, I replaced it on CD. It's one of my most played CD's. I can't live without it. I have nothing bad to say about any one of its shimmering, jazzy, easy-on-the-ears tracks. Most importantly, it's INTELLIGENT. This is the one CD I can actually use the wordS "SMART" and "GROOVY!" on.

If you like easy listening, jazz, real sentiment (not that mushy manufactured stuff), and streetwise romance, get this. You'll love it, swear. July 9, 2007

One Song: The Last Chance Texaco

It's hard to believe Ricki Lee Jones was only 23 when she recorded this album (according to the Amazon review). I suppose I was in a similar space when I was that age, slumming. But I never wrote a song this good (I checked the ASCAP database, and yes, she did write it). This guitar-driven, Doppler-effected, blues inflected, spoken-word dejected hymn to the American highway is flat-out brilliant. Here's how it ends:

"But this one ain't fuel-injected
Her plugs disconnected
She gets scared and she stalls
She just needs a man, that's all

It's her last chance
Her timing's all wrong
Her last chance
She can't idle this long
Her last chance
Turn her over and go
Pullin' out of the last chance Texaco
The last chance" May 17, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...