The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard
by Rickie Lee Jones
  • Record Label: New West
  • Release Date: Feb 6, 2007
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. AllMusic
    90
    This is the least polished and crafted recording of Rickie Lee Jones' career, and it stands alone in her catalog. It's a ragged kid in ripped blue jeans singing her heart out to you without drama or falsity. How can it be anything less than a masterpiece?
  2. Los Angeles Times
    88
    Ambitious and sprawling, a mud-caked journey to transcendence.
  3. Billboard
    80
    It's a concept so heady and engrossing that it can obscure the fact that "Sermon" also rocks in a way Jones never has before. [17 Feb 2007]
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  5. NOW Magazine
    80
    Otherworldly.
  6. Uncut
    80
    For all its weird dissonance, Sermon...'s musical crudeness gives it a powerful immediacy. Strangely accessible and highly addictive, it's her best work in three decades. [Mar 2007, p.98]
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  7. Mojo
    80
    What if Lou Reed and Moe Tucker joined forces with the Danielson Family? [Mar 2007, p.104]
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  8. Austin Chronicle
    78
    With every repeat spin, Sermon reveals new truths, divine grooves, and exquisite inspiration.
  9. ShakingThrough.net
    76
    You want back-to-basics? This is it.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Sermon is not quite as transcendent as some of her earlier work, but it's still vintage Rickie. [9 Feb 2007, p.75]
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  11. Boston Globe
    70
    The overall hush of "Sermon" occasionally leads down some sleepy roads. But with a real sense of creative spark at its heart, "Sermon" is a worthy entry into the Book of Rickie Lee.
  12. Q Magazine
    70
    Anyone expecting a lot of happy-clappy Bible-thumping best rethink. [Mar 2007, p.112]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 15
  3. Negative: 3 out of 15
  1. winesrsw
    Feb 2, 2019
    10
    Beautiful album. Re-listened on vacation after 5-10 years. (I hate how hard it is to listen to an album, vs random songs.) I was especiallyBeautiful album. Re-listened on vacation after 5-10 years. (I hate how hard it is to listen to an album, vs random songs.) I was especially touched by Was There Where, I Like It Best, and It Hurts. Any other recommendations. Donkey Ride was odd but unique!… Full Review »
  2. HeleneG
    Jul 16, 2009
    10
    Raw, honest. Jones stripped, lyrics and music. LOVE IT.
  3. GeneS
    Mar 11, 2009
    10
    First of all some of the acoustic (read: no computers) atmospheres would make Brian Eno green with envy. Some of the record is so playful and First of all some of the acoustic (read: no computers) atmospheres would make Brian Eno green with envy. Some of the record is so playful and inspired. It makes me laugh and smile. Some of it is devastating and heartrending. But all of it flies under the radar because the music is so darned engaging and entertaining. I'm inclined to believe "I Was There" is Rickie's greatest post-Pirates era performance. While the record doesn't issue the condemnation the Religious Right rightly deserves, it seems rather to make the point: as a spiritual peoples and collective we are so utterly lost, fumbling in the dark. Perhaps Rickie Lee Jones makes the point that realizing this is the first step toward moving to the light. The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard (a soulful update of a musical theory she explored on the 1997's Ghostyhead), is her most startling record since Pirates and easily earns a place among her greatest work.… Full Review »
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