Have you ever listened to an album that you ignored when it was first released, and discovered it was much better than you expected?

I'm reading Rickie Lee Jones' book Last Chance Texaco, which is excellent, btw. I have a ton of respect for her work, and I think her first two albums in particular are classics. There is really good music scattered throughout her career since those albums -- some excellent albums, some OK.

Pop Pop is an album of covers, mostly older jazz/pop ballads, with one Hendrix tune and one Jefferson Airplane tune. It followed Flying Cowboys, which had been her first album in several years, and was something of a return to form after Girl At Her Volcano and The Magazine, both of which I thought were disappointing. At the time Pop Pop was released, I wasn't very interested; the cover was kind of off-putting, and I wasn't really up for an album of old ballads. Seemed gimmicky and a weak excuse for not having any new material. I didn't buy it,

As I've been reading the book, I've been motivated to listen to some of her catalog, including her Anthology, The Duchess of Coolville, which is excellent. It includes her rendition of Bye Bye Blackbird, which is from Pop Pop, and that cut really stood out to me this time around. In the book she also mentions liking the song Comin' Back To Me, a Jefferson Airplane (Marty Balin) tune from Surrealistic Pillow that has always been a favorite of mine. Turns out she covers that on Pop Pop. I was intrigued. So I ordered a copy of the album.

It's fantastic. It features jazz players Robben Ford, Joe Henderson, and Charlie Haden, among others, and their contributions are stellar. The whole thing has a beautiful, laid back jazz vibe that I'm loving. I think you probably have to like Rickie's idiosyncratic vocal style to like this album, but I do, and her interpretations of these songs are wonderful. Tons of passion and style; she obviously loves this material. The production is terrific. I'm not sure I would have appreciated this album as much when it was released in 1989, but I'm so glad I discovered this after ignoring it for years. Highly recommended, especially if you're a Rickie Lee Jones fan to any degree.

Oh, and read the book. It's quite a story.

Thanks for the recommendation. I bought Pop Pop as part of a CD collection a few years ago and never got around to playing it.

I totally agree, the book is quite a read! Her last two albums, "The Other Side Of Desire" is excellent and "Kicks" has some really good cover tunes. I really like "The Magazine" and "Girl At Her Volcano", actually better than Flying Cowboys. I'm catalogue on Rickie Lee except for "The Devil You Know". I didn't care for vocals and interpretations on that album. Her voice had fantastic range on her classic first two albums. On "Girl At Her Volcano", which is live she is in excellent voice. She sounds fantastic to me on "Something Cool".

rickie lee jones has a very interesting way of interpreting songs, when she does a cover, she does it good.

her cover of 'low spark', a song i never imagined anyone covering, is really nice.

I really enjoy this album and think Rickie did a nice job in her selection. It's a silly song, but my favorite track is "Dat Dere."

I finished her book; it's fascinating. There is truly nobody like her. Really interesting to read her comments about artists that she likes, and who have influenced her. Very early on I realized she reminded me a lot of Laura Nyro, much more than any other artist I've heard. Turns out she is a huge fan of Laura's and she was a big influence. Van Morrison is another idol of hers. There's a great story at the end of the book about how she met Van in Ireland. Steely Dan, Crosby Stills & Nash, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield, and the Beatles are all mentioned. I don't hear all of those influences in her work, but she sure has great taste.