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

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  1. ToddW.
    May 3, 2007
    9
    Inspirational stories sung heavenly by a beautiful soul. What could be better? Very few offerings, it turns out. Rickie Lee has made it difficult for one to follow the arc of her career, but with this she puts her eccentricity aside in producing a masterpiece. All of you social rejects out there who are looking for something worthwhile, this is a great place to start. Makes you wanna Inspirational stories sung heavenly by a beautiful soul. What could be better? Very few offerings, it turns out. Rickie Lee has made it difficult for one to follow the arc of her career, but with this she puts her eccentricity aside in producing a masterpiece. All of you social rejects out there who are looking for something worthwhile, this is a great place to start. Makes you wanna holler "Amen."… Expand
  2. niccolò
    Feb 20, 2007
    8
    a strange and yet so intense album. you have to listen to it at least twice. and then it will "reveal" itself in all his beauty. I prefer the music to the lyrics, still.
  3. PeterL.
    Sep 7, 2007
    10
    This is a heady concept for sure. But this artist, and this work especially, are so what, ahead of their time, so new, so driven by emotion, so musical and emotional in an unmusical and manufactured landscape that who can recognize it's brilliance? This are a great and listener friendly record. All the great reviews cannot express how much you will like it. Improvisations based on This is a heady concept for sure. But this artist, and this work especially, are so what, ahead of their time, so new, so driven by emotion, so musical and emotional in an unmusical and manufactured landscape that who can recognize it's brilliance? This are a great and listener friendly record. All the great reviews cannot express how much you will like it. Improvisations based on the gentle words of the Christ, with the boldness of early Morrison and the musicality of Ms. Jones. Have you met ms. jones? i doubt it, she is never the same girl twice. She deserves a sophisticated audience, that is, people who are compatible with the sweetness and the soulfulness in one plate. flawed, but who's complaining? do we complain that Lou Reed can't sing? NO. we love our icons for what they bring, and with that in mind it would be impossible to give this a two or five. She has brought all she is here, and transcended. She drives home subtle inflection and inference, she totters on absolute beginner innocence while predicting the rise and fall of empires. This is worth any effort it takes to hear it. and if it were not for some person intent on complaining about Jones undiluted music, she would have a 9 here.… Expand
  4. 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 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 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.… Expand
  5. HeleneG
    Jul 16, 2009
    10
    Raw, honest. Jones stripped, lyrics and music. LOVE IT.
  6. dP
    Feb 19, 2007
    10
    RLJ in rare form...
  7. Jackie
    Feb 22, 2007
    10
    I've been a fan since her first album and that has not changed throughout her career. I welcome any and all musical talent within her. What an awesome addition to her career catalog. She's an interesting character with so much heart and soul to give and not some stupid cookie cutter pop starlet. If you were lucky enough to buy the limited edition release with dvd clips of Rickie I've been a fan since her first album and that has not changed throughout her career. I welcome any and all musical talent within her. What an awesome addition to her career catalog. She's an interesting character with so much heart and soul to give and not some stupid cookie cutter pop starlet. If you were lucky enough to buy the limited edition release with dvd clips of Rickie in action then you can see first hand how things pour out of her. Wow! What a true artist of our time.… Expand
  8. RudyB.
    Mar 27, 2007
    9
    Inspirational, moving and pentecostal are the effects this had on me. It made me want to read The Words and be as inspired as she appeared to be.
  9. JodyM
    Oct 26, 2007
    2
    This music is awful.
  10. Garyd
    Feb 13, 2007
    9
    It could have been preachy and insufferably high-concept. But it's actually pretty affecting. A welcome return to form.
  11. TaniaRochelle
    Feb 16, 2007
    2
    No thanks!
  12. 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 especially touched by Was There Where, I Like It Best, and It Hurts. Any other recommendations. Donkey Ride was odd but unique!

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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?
    Read full review
  2. Amazon.com
    40
    Some of this music is oddly affecting; much of it is merely odd.
    Read full review
  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]
See all critic reviews »