An eclectic collection of covers from one of jazz-pop's most eclectic performers,
Pop Pop travels from the stage to tin pan alley through
Jimi Hendrix's sky.
Rickie Lee Jones cradles each of these songs with her pleading, gentle voice, backing them with subtle orchestration courtesy of notable performers including
Robben Ford,
Joe Henderson, and
Charlie Haden. Her attention to love songs of the '40s and '50s demonstrates almost a longing for simpler times and simpler love, and these qualities are echoed in the treatment of songs like "My One and Only Love" and "I'll Be Seeing You." Her subdued take on the psychedelic
Jimi Hendrix screamer "Up From the Skies" is slowed to a bluesy acoustic number, while the bratty refrain from Peter Pan's "I Won't Grow Up" seems blushingly sweet.
While fans of the folk styles she demonstrated with her 1979 self-titled debut might not see as much merit in these soulful jazz interpretations, it still demonstrates
Jones' ability to evolve and her unwillingness to be pinned down into one category. ~ Zac Johnson