With her new album KICKS out today (June 7), singer, songwriter and musician RICKIE LEE JONEShas released a video for “Nagasaki,” the album’s second single. For her version of the song–which was first performed by the Ipana Troubadours in 1928 and was most famously recorded by the Benny Goodman Quartet in 1952–JONES gives the track a traditional jazz offering of tight three-part harmonies.
For the clip, RICKIE LEE teamed with award-winning animator/film maker Ben Clarkson to create an anime clip with cameos from Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un plus the superhero on the KICKS album cover who defeats the monsters and saves the world. Watch the “Nagasaki” video here.
KICKSspans two decades (50s-70s) of pop, rock and jazz,presenting her unique and sophisticated interpretations of these songs. JONES is that rare musician who has transcended the singer/songwriter mantle by incorporating different radio genres from the get-go and she continues that tradition on the forthcoming album. It is fitting that one of the American treasures of songwriters should be comfortable with this diverse collection of the great songwriters of the 20th century. KICKS was created entirely in New Orleans,using local musicians,mixers and studios. Produced by RICKIE LEE JONES with her band-mate,vibraphonist Mike Dillion, it features 10 songs of a highly infectious nature.
Here’s some early critical feedback for KICKS:
The album, “seems to sit more snugly alongside Jones’ own material,” says GLIDE MAGAZINE in their review. “Rarely has a singer-songwriter inhabited other people’s work so completely, but Jones proves herself, again, as one of the most inventive and imaginative interpreters operating today – it’s to her credit that she can, as ever, make 70s radio mainstays make perfect sense alongside jazz jewels from the 40s. These supposedly disparate threads are tied up in an Americana wash of guitars, vibes, and pedal steel…Kicks succeeds in introducing fresh perspectives to songs that are decades old, some of them well-worn, some of them hidden gems…Alongside co-producer and vibraphonist Mike Dillion, she has crafted an album that feels of a piece: warm, welcoming, and infectious, sitting comfortably in her catalog.”
COACHELLA VALLEY WEEKLY says, “Even when she’s covering songs by Rock N’ Roll stalwarts, she manages to subvert expectations. Tackling tracks by America, Steve Miller Band and Elton John…Rickie Lee doesn’t really interpret other people’s songs, she re-interprets, recalibrates and reconfigures music that speaks to her, rendering it a deeply felt and personal experience. That’s her gift. This album mirrors the musical education she began with her father, effortlessly blending genres and blurring boundaries. 40 years on, she remains a sui generis talent, who isn’t afraid to color outside the lines.”
The album cover, by artist Peregrine Honig, is a super-hero woman in boxing gloves. Sound like anyone we know? RICKIE LEE JONES, superhero, with a super weapon smile! “In times like these,”Miss Jones smiles, “a smile can be subversive. Here is Rickie Lee‘s musical smile.”
Miss Jones’ own label, OSOD (other side of desire), released KICKS with Thirty Tigers distributing. The album is available here, along with a variety of official KICKS merchandise including t-shirts, posters, totes and other items. In addition, fans can pre-order the album via traditional sites: All Retail; Spotify; iTunes, Apple and Amazon; all pre-orders receive the “Lonely People” instant grat track with the purchase of the pre-release of the album.
The KICKS track listing is as follows:
“Bad Company” (Bad Company, 1974)
“My Fathers Gun” (Elton John, 1970)
“Lonely People” (America, 1974)
“Houston” (Sanford Clark, 1964; made famous by Dean Martin, 1965)
“You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” (Russ Morgan, 1944; made famous by Dean Martin, 1960/1964)
“Nagasaki” (Ipana Troubadours, 1928; most famous by Benny Goodman Quartet, 1952)
“Mack The Knife” (Louis Armstrong, 1956; made famous by Bobby Darin, 1958)
“Quicksilver Girl” (Steve Miller Band, 1968)
“End Of The World” (Skeeter Davis, 1962)
“Cry” (Ruth Casey, 1951; made famous by Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads, 1951)
In support of the album, RICKIE LEEJONES will perform a run of U.S. dates. Her initial 2019 tour dates are as follows:
