Rickie Lee Jones

"What began as a project to interpret Lee Cantelon's book The Words as a spoken word record was transformed into something more universal once Jones was brought on board. Cantelon's original idea was simple enough — to put the words of Jesus Christ into a modern context outside the conventions of contemporary organized religion and lay those words over a bed of music. It is
certainly the best album of 2007 thus far." -- Ray Ellis, SXSW Music Festival, Austin, Texas

With Jesus' Help, Rickie Lee Jones Walks On Water
"What if Lou Reed and Moe Tucker joined forces with the Danielson Family? Ms. Jones, a 70's-era spellbinder,knows the potential: The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard - which veers from punk rock minimalism to ethereal whispery rock - marries pop music and Christianity in ways that Jesus Christ Superstar actors could only dream of. Cut in an LA painter's loft and at Sunset Sound Studios, with apostles like author/musician Lee Cantelon, Joey Waronker and Rob Schnapf helping to guide the way, Jones neither preaches nor proselytizes, but instead witnesses through Jesus' eyes, her ever-evolving faith. At times primordial (Gethsemane, Donkey Ride), hallucinatory (Elvis Cadillac, I Was There), and sweetly self-examining (It Hurts), her tunes are as joyful as a dog's yelp and as sorrowful, yes, as a crucifixion. "On the corner/ We see him coming," she croons on Falling Up, as if sending a warning flare to the non-believers.". -- Mojo Magazine, March '07, page 102  **** four stars

photo: rickie lee jones by lee cantelon c. 2007