Ghostyhead (Remastered 2022) Rickie Lee Jones

• 1Little Yellow Town (Remastered 2022)06:45
• 2Road Kill (Remastered 2022)04:12
• 3Matters (Remastered 2022)04:21
• 4Firewalker (Remastered 2022)03:59
• 5Howard (Remastered 2022)04:22
• 6Ghostyhead (Remastered 2022)05:29
• 7Sunny Afternoon (Remastered 2022)03:51
• 8Scary Chinese Movie (Remastered 2022)05:31
• 9Cloud Of Unknowing (Remastered 2022)07:20
• 10Vessel Of Light (Remastered 2022)06:29
• Total Runtime52:19

Info for Ghostyhead (Remastered 2022)

"Ghostyhead" is the seventh studio album by the artist Rickie Lee Jones. It was released in 1997.

Not since Billie Holiday has there been a vocalist who so completely transforms a song into her own. On "It's Like This", eclectic folkie Rickie Lee Jones envelops standards, showtunes, '70s soul, and even slick jazz-rock, interpreting them with her familiar childlike, breathy shouts. In a very similar vein as 1991's Pop Pop, Jones pulls together a collection of diverse songs from throughout the 20th century and gives them a sparse, fragile spin, kind of like Diana Krall and Bjork sharing coffee at an all-night diner. Produced by Bruce Brody (who has also worked with Maria McKee and Bette Midler), this album is really a showcase for the dynamic vocalist - her voice pitching and yawing like a sloop far out at sea. Several notable artists scatter themselves unobtrusively throughout the album like Joe Jackson, Ben Folds, John Pizzarelli, and Taj Mahal; each lend a subtle bass line or harmony vocal, cautiously not stepping on any of Jones' delicate lines.

"Not a late-to-the party attempt to revitavlize her sound, Rickie Lee Jones acknowledges the fact that trip-hop is a natural medium for her stripe of boho beatnik in the late 1990s. Intriguing, late-night stuff delivered with style and wit on standouts like "Scary Chinese Movie" and "Little Yellow Town." The lyrics are the make-or-break proposition, but you'll have to go to her web site to find 'em." (Jeff Bateman)

"Ghostyhead finds Rickie Lee Jones in the odd position of following a younger generation, as its languid trip-hop beats suggest that she has been listening to Portishead, Tricky, and Beth Orton. It is certainly a precarious situation, since she could seem out of touch and old-fashioned, but it is a makeover she pulls off surprisingly well. Jones tends to follow the trippy, free-form structures of trip-hop, which means the melodies occasionally meander and the lyrics are more impressionistic than usual, concentrating on the overall effect instead of the details. There are still more solidly constructed songs than atmospheric instrumentals, which gives the album an anchor, making the electronic echoes and rolling beats all the more effective. Although the songs aren't among Jones' best, the musical adventurousness of Ghostyhead -- which manages to be contemporary without sacrificing her style -- makes the album a revitalization of sorts." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Rickie Lee Jones, vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, organ, piano
Rick Boston, guitar, bass, percussion, organ, piano, loops, programming
Boss Doctor, additional programming
Robert Devery, rhythm, Korg
John Leftwich, upright bass on "Howard"
Gerri Sutyak, cello on "Firewalker"
David Zeller, sheet metal
Josh Freese, live drums
Ayin Es, live drums
Ronnie Ciago, live drums
Lee Cantelon, backward guitar on "Matters"
Janeen Rae Heller, saw on "Ghostyhead"

Digitally remastered

Rickie Lee Jones
is one of the most acclaimed and talented singer-songwriters of our time. Her career spans nearly three decades of incredible musical output spanning many genres: folk, rock, jazz, soul, spoken word and pop. Always fearless, Rickie Lee has consistently pushed her seemingly limitless creative abilities, as well as the music industry's envelope.

Arriving on the scene in 1979, her first self-titled album, released that year, received five Grammy nominations. Her nominations included Best Song for 'Last Chance Texaco', Best Album, Best Pop Vocal and Best Rock Vocal. As it happened, she won Best New Artist, and her career was launched. Only four months after her debut, Rickie Lee was gracing the cover of Rolling Stone, and 18 months later she was featured on the cover again.

Jones released Pirates in 1981 and then Girl At Her Volcano in 1983, which offered listeners a challenging mixture of jazz and pop. 1984 saw the release of The Magazine, whereupon she took a five-year hiatus and moved to Paris. Rickie Lee returned in 1988 to have her only child, Charlotte, and to write Flying Cowboys with Steely Dan and producer/musician Walter Becker on her new label, Geffen. While 'Satellites' was a 1989 hit, she found real success with her duet with long time pal Dr. John on 'Making Whoopie', which won both of them a Grammy for Best Jazz Performance. She had also been nominated the year before for a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal for her rendition of 'Autumn Leaves' on Rob Wassermann's Duets.

Her next two records, Traffic From Paradise (1993) and Naked Songs (1995) were her final Geffen releases. Ghostyhead, released in 1997, is considered by many fans to be her best record and certainly among her most unusual, using ambient and aggressive rhythm tracks against which she recited impressionistic lyrics. Ghostyhead was followed by another extreme on It's Like This, an intimate and loving album of covers of a wide gamut of popular songs, from 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys' to 'Up the Lazy River'. Continuing Rickie Lee's own tradition of mixing pop and jazz, It's Like This featured Taj Mahal, Joe Jackson, Ben Folds, and others and was nominated for the Grammy for Best Pop Album in 2000.

The bootleg Live at Red Rocks was bought by Artemis and released in 2001, and 2003 saw the release of The Evening of My Best Day on V2. Iconoclastic guitarist Neils Kline remarked that this record 'was the greatest non-selling record of the decade'. However, Rickie Lee's records do continue to sell, year after year. Her latest release is a three-CD anthology honoring her career to date on Rhino, Dutchess of Coolsville.

Rickie Lee’s voice has a unique and boyish tonality, offering no vibrato, and replete with a 40s-style jazz sensibility, has distinguished her from every other major singer in the modern era. Much imitated but rarely credited, Rickie Lee Jones is an unparalleled artist of great integrity and credibility. Although she is somewhat shy and reclusive in person, Rickie Lee's music has been a major force in for nearly 30 years, a major influence on the music of Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Edie Brickell, Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and many others.

Rickie Lee Jones continues to record and play live. Her newest album, Sermon On Exposition Boulevard, was released February 6th, 2007 on New West Records.

This album contains no booklet.