Rickie Lee Jones’ brilliant new take on “Sympathy for the Devil,” featured on a forthcoming album of cover songs for Concord Records, neatly sidesteps expectations.
No, Jones doesn’t approach this with the nervy cocksuredness that we’ve all come to associate with Mick Jagger’s original reading for the Rolling Stones. Neither, however, did she apply the winking coo of her seminal hit “Chuck E’s in Love.”
Instead, Rickie Lee Jones sounds like a dusty-booted Delta singer, channeling some bad spirit, remembering something that sends shivers, singing it then through clinched lips, or in a guttural whisper (as if saying these things too loudly would conjure the devil himself between her and the audience), then moving finally into a high-pitched reverie at the end — like someone who’s said too much, and must simply give herself over to the fates.
If these are the kind of unexpected treasures awaiting on The Devil You Know, due on September 18, 2012, then it’s going to be a deeply intriguing journey.
The other key to this track’s success, beyond Jones’ gutty performance, is the spare instrumentation — something that gives the take a raw, brutally honest feel. Jones teamed up with producer Ben Harper, a long-time fan, and he promised a “simple, surprising” album of covers. So far, so good.
Also included on The Devil You Know are new interpretations of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” the Band’s “The Weight,” Donovan’s “Catch the Wind,” Van Morrison’s “Comfort You,” the traditional tune “St. James Infirmary,” Harper’s “Masterpiece” and “Play With Fire,” another Rolling Stones classic.
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