1. Sympathy for the Devil (by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
2. Masterpiece (by Ben Harper)
3. The Weight (by Robbie Robertson)
4. St. James Infirmary (traditional folksong)
5. Comfort You (by Van Morrison)
6. Reason to Believe (by Tim Hardin)
7. Play With Fire (by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, William Wyman, Robert Charles Watts, Brian Jones)
8. Seems Like a Long Time (by Theodore Anderson)
9. Catch the Wind (by Donovan Leitch)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008HBCXTK/?tag=imwan-20

From Paste Magazine:

I'm so there!

This certainly looks promising, especially "Sympathy..." and "St. James Infirmary".

The only Rickie Lee Jones album I have is "Sermon On Exposition Blvd.". I bought it at Borders' liquidation sale on a lark. I remembered some good reviews, but I just can't get into it at all. You guys seem to like her work quite a bit. Can anyone recommend something that might appeal to me? Is she an acquired taste? Maybe this covers album might be a good entry point for me.

Jim

There are probably much bigger RLJ fans here than me, but I'll put in my two cents. I own six of her albums, and my favorites are the self-titled debut, "Pirates" and the Walter Becker-produced "Flying Cowboys." I think all three are very accessible and perfect introductions to her work. I'll be curious to see what everyone else thinks.

2 Stones covers. I'm in.

This looks like an interesting song selection, but I am not always thrilled with Rickie Lee as an interpreter.

Of her cover albums, "Girl At Her Volcano" was quite good.

I hated "Pop Pop". I wasn't crazy about "It's Like This" until I saw Rickie do some of the songs live, and then I liked about half of it.

like scotch. rickie lee jones is an acquired taste. and like scotch once you you acquire the taste it becomes habit forming.

i'll do my best here:

her first 5 albums are essential if you want to get to know her. although "girl at her volcano" is probably going to be tough to find, it always has been.

after that it gets interesting: most of those that follow i have seen in used bins for cheap prices. "naked songs" and "live at red rocks" are both live. the most strangest thing is, by far, "ghostyhead" a very difficult album to get into.

you might want to try her 3CD set "anthology: the duchess of coolsville" if you can find it used. it is not a bad overview and does have a few rarities.

she is one of the best, if not the best, cover artists out there, like linda ronstadt used to be only different. linda covered songs back in the days of radio and made them hers, while rickie lee covers songs and make you realize how good they are even though she did't write them. her covers of steely dan's "show biz kids" and traffics "low spark" still blows me away. they are both on "it's like this" she also covers hendrix, bowie and a few others throughout her career.

this new one looks like it will real good, i'm definitely in.

You picked a doozy to start with! I think that is really a tough one to get into. I would probably start with the first two albums (self-titled and "Pirates"). If those grab you, I'd move on to "The Magazine" and "Flying Cowboys".

I have to admit that many of her later albums (including "Sermon") left me cold, but I loved her last one ("Balm In Gilead").

I'd start with the self titled first album. If you like that go to the Coolsville box set. She has gone through numerous stylistic changes. Sermon is one of the most inaccessible.

Thanks for the suggestions and for validating that Sermon is tough starting point. I'll give her another chance.

For some reason, Jones decided that the Duchess of Coolsville box set should be compiled alphabetically. And, while they didn't dare leave off "Chuck E.'s in Love," it contains none of her other chart hits.

The big one I missed was "Danny's All Star Joint"; though since all the hits I know of are on the 1st album, I'm largely ok with that!

I too have 6 of her albums, played her debut and Pirates to death, those are my faves, then my interest starting waning a little with each subsequent release. But those first two, ahhhhh... (and Volcano does have Walk Away Renee !)

I was feeling that way also until I got the mini box several years ago, which was somewhat revelatory to me.

Geff, do you mean The Duchess of Coolsville: An Anthology? It's a great set for the beginner and the long-time fan, and it's under $18 for three discs. It's an outstanding collection. Highly recommended.

Yes.

Renny, this is the first I've heard of the Red Rocks cd. How is it? Is it worth spending $'s on?

BTW, she also has a TON of live cd's for sale on her web site, but while it's not stated currently, I have a memory that I think they're burned.

http://www.greatbigisland.com/rickie_sales.htm

I emailed the site & got a very fast response. All of the exclusives EXCEPT "Europe '82" are burned.

"red rocks" is a full band CD, "naked" is not.

a nice duet with lyle lovett on "red rocks" and a real nice cover of "gloria".

i like them both.