|
The Evening Of My Best Day
10/14/2003 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Rob O'Connor
Once upon a time Rickie Lee Jones was unfairly considered a poor girl's Joni Mitchell, thanks to certain physical similarities, an affection for jazz-related pop-rock and a smooth, mature sound that smacked of rarefied sophistication. However, if you live long enough, your perceived sins are forgiven and you're eventually accorded a career of your own. And with Ms. Mitchell slowing down to a chamber music pace, the stage has been set for Jones to move to the center without any overcrowding problems. That said, Jones has somehow moved into Mitchell's middle period, where current events and politics served to charge the music for better and worse. Jones comments on Bush Jr. and the Patriot Act, and while political manifestos are never something attractively wedded to song, Jones keeps humanity on the record, mostly with supportive grooves and her tantalizing way with twisting a note. Which are still best brought to fruition with the songs that are not about political events, such as "Sailor Song."
|
