RIKKI LEE JONES post

“What were the skies like when you were young?” If you know the answer to that question, you must’ve went to a lot of raves, or you could have seen those Volkswagen “Bug” commercials a few years back. It’s a recognizable sample from the Orb’s “Little Fluffly Clouds,” and in it Rikki Lee Jones answers, “They went on forever,” in a totally soothing, southwestern-hippie, alien believing kind of way. The Orb album prompted me to take out her self-titled debut album and search for the sample. I bought the album when I went on a “So-Cal rock” kick (The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, and the rest of Jerry Brown’s and David Geffen’s friends), and while I listened to “Chuck E’s In Love” a thousand times, I couldn’t find the sample. Where was Wikipedia at that time, because it took me all but two seconds to find out that it comes from an interview disc included with her 1989 album, Flying Cowboys.

What that sample search helped me realize was that Rikki Lee Jones IS NOT Joni Mitchell . While she’s got that natural, folky vibe and also dabbles in jazz, blues, R&B, country and other genres, she’s much cooler. Even when she’s preaching on her latest release, The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard Jones doesn’t have that self-righteous tone that Joni’s got. They both, of course, deal in the business of poetry, but Rikki Lee Jones has got a way of riffing that makes her more, beat, street corner, and more “real.” Her new album has received some fine reviews, and in addition to playing those songs, her people announce that each show of the residency (on Monday nights) will be a unique experience with a different setlist. You can get all the info on the shows or on the EchoPlex on their website HERE!
You can also go to Rikki’s WEBSITE

CHUCK E’S IN LOVE VIDEO

Anyone want to see those Fluffy Clouds?