Joan Jones comes out of the box with her best Rickie Lee Jones impression and gets away with it. If Sheryl Crow can get away with it and still sell a zillion albums, why shouldn’t someone else? It seems that Joan Jones is just the right gal for the challenge.
“Come B45” is proof positive that Joan Jones is ready to take on all comers. The huge chorus does its best to unbuckle your seatbelt and take you for a real ride, but it doesn’t really push the envelope that far. Besides, it’s still pop-rock. And gosh, “Everyday Down” is pretty.
The problem with this disc is that everyone is going to think Joan Jones is nothing but a Sheryl Crow wanna-be, but in essence both Jones and Crow are Rickie Lee Jones’ clones. Crow is more rock than Joan Jones, but Joan has much more interesting lyrics. The storytelling is interesting and keeps you locked in at all times, not allowing you to get lost in other things while the music plays as a backdrop to the world.
I particularly like the song “Wide Eyed Devil”. The lyrics may seem a bit carnal, but they still give you that fuzzy feeling all over. “I wear a flimsy shirt so you can see right through to what’s pumping for you/ and I’d sell my soul to any wide eyed devil if I want to/ I want to.”
“Party” should be a huge hit. That is, if radio and MTV determines that it is suitable. The chorus strides along seductively with “everybody wants to come to my party wearing nothing at all.”
Joan Jones’ release is warm and easily accessible. It will have you feeling better about the state of music today. If you are sick of all of the teeny-bopping made groups of today, you’ll be happy the moment Joan Jones rings out from your speakers and sweetly kisses your ears.
+ rae gun
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.