The scintillating Summer Music Series at L.L. Bean’s Discovery Park continues Saturday night with a performance by Rickie Lee Jones.
During this most recent tour, Jones has been mostly performing songs from her 1981 album “Pirates,” the follow-up to her 1979 eponymous debut that won her a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. “Pirates” garnered a five-star rating from Rolling Stone magazine and hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Additional Photos
The eight songs on the album range from simple to cinematic and from thought-provoking to heart-wrenching, and they’re all anchored by Jones’ bright, jazzy and certainly signature voice. We caught up with RLJ via email and asked about the “Pirates” show, along with a few other burning questions.
I love how bands are doing shows like this that showcase one particular album. For example, the Pixies will be playing here this fall doing songs from their legendary “Doolittle” record. How do you think this trend got started, and what’s fueling it? Or at the very least, what’s your personal motivation?
I don’t know how it got started, but I am thinking, someone says this record (“Pirates”) is a classic; people keep coming back to it, what if we offered a concert of that record? It’s old, lots of people missed that tour, and so I thought perhaps doing just that music, nothing else. But the records are private things. Live, it’s not the same. Concerts are living things, so making that work is more challenging that you might imagine.
It looks like the L.L. Bean show is the last one until October. How will you spend the next couple of months?
RESTING. Writing. Horse care.
Congrats on the “Live in Stockholm” DVD (Released July 5). From the clips I’ve seen online, it looks like that was a very special evening in a breathtaking venue. Are you pleased with how it turned out? What are some of your favorite moments of that show?
It is a good DVD, very pretty, good sound I think. Yes, I am pleased. I mean, it’s not revolutionary, but I am singing well and it is a very beautiful venue. I think it takes you there. “Weasel” (“Weasel and the White Boys Cool”) is good.
Has your method of songwriting changed since your early days and if so, how?
Yes. The method is no method, a lack of discipline and a discovery that you will know what to say when the time comes, (which has) made me rather loose in the past few years. But I think it’s always different. Sometimes it’s improvised, sometimes it’s mapped slightly.
What has inspired you lately? (Be it music, a film, an experience, etc.?)
Dreams. Dreams are inspiring me. I liked the muscles on Adrien Brody in “Predators.” Other than that, I can’t think of anything but the Bible.
Staff Writer Aimsel Ponti can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:
aponti@pressherald.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
