The Magazine (album)
Encyclopedia
The Magazine is an album by Rickie Lee Jones
, released in September 1984. It is her third full-length studio album, and was released as the follow-up to Pirates
(1981). The album was partly composed in France
and was co-produced by Jones and James Newton Howard
.
. A 10-inch EP, Girl At Her Volcano, had been released in 1983 and Jones took up residence in Paris
in April 1983 for four months. Jones said: "I got an apartment for $800 on the Boulevard des Invalides, where they have all the political demonstrations. I wasn't in such great shape and, appropriately, I lived with the invalids." It was also in Paris that Jones kicked her alcohol habit. She told Timothy White in Musician in 1984: "I started drinking...more heavily than I had ever drunk in my life. I drank for about six weeks. When I started waking up and drinking in the day, I figured-umm, bad news. I don't know how I quit drinking; I finally just drank too much one night an said "That's enough of this, it's awful." I think I went to Paris to put it together; I had to be in an absolutely foreign environment, to take stock."
Jones had been working on fragments of songs, such as "Juke Box Fury," "Gravity," and the initially Shirelles-inspired "Runaround," since 1981, before finding more inspiration in Paris. The first full song written was "Deep Space," precipitating a spurt of creativity from October 1983. Recording work for the album began on January 18, 1984 and was completed on June 1 before a September release date.
The opening instrumental "Prelude to Gravity," written in France and London, was originally titled "Things Made of Glass" and was written by Jones for inclusion in a planned children's fantasy she wrote about "two little girls who keep their most prized possessions, thoughts and dreams in these special jars."
The album ends with a musical suite entitled "Rorschachs," with "Theme for the Pope" co-written by long-time collaborator and former romantic partner Sal Bernardi.
Daily Collegian, Penn State University, Oct. 15, 1984 - "The Magazine does insert a few more classic cuts and several mighty listenable selections into Jones' musical lexicon. You can't help wishing, though, that she had stuck to more earthbound topics and unforced rhythms that made her past efforts such pleasures."
New Straits Times (Malaysia), Dec. 2, 1984 - "The music skips, almost nonchalantly, from sparse hymn-like melodies to lilting moods to fractured beats, conveying jazz shadings and evoking appropriate atmospherics."
Time, Dec. 17, 1984 - "This is only her third full album, and she seems bent on proving, quite unnecessarily, what she has already established: she is the most enterprising woman writer making records today. The Magazine, a spiraling cycle of songs organized around themes of loneliness, defiance, memory and renewal, seems as if it was long and hard in coming."
Singles - Billboard
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
, released in September 1984. It is her third full-length studio album, and was released as the follow-up to Pirates
Pirates (album)
Pirates is the second album by Chicago-born singer, songwriter, and musician Rickie Lee Jones, released in July 1981, two years after her eponymous debut Rickie Lee Jones. The album is partially an account of her break-up with fellow musician Tom Waits after the success of her debut album...
(1981). The album was partly composed in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and was co-produced by Jones and James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard is an American composer best known for his scores to motion pictures. He is one of the most popular and respected composers for cinema, and has scored over 100 films...
.
Genesis
After the release of Pirates in July 1981, Jones spent 1982 on the road on tour before kicking her addiction to heroin and cocaineCocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. A 10-inch EP, Girl At Her Volcano, had been released in 1983 and Jones took up residence in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in April 1983 for four months. Jones said: "I got an apartment for $800 on the Boulevard des Invalides, where they have all the political demonstrations. I wasn't in such great shape and, appropriately, I lived with the invalids." It was also in Paris that Jones kicked her alcohol habit. She told Timothy White in Musician in 1984: "I started drinking...more heavily than I had ever drunk in my life. I drank for about six weeks. When I started waking up and drinking in the day, I figured-umm, bad news. I don't know how I quit drinking; I finally just drank too much one night an said "That's enough of this, it's awful." I think I went to Paris to put it together; I had to be in an absolutely foreign environment, to take stock."
Jones had been working on fragments of songs, such as "Juke Box Fury," "Gravity," and the initially Shirelles-inspired "Runaround," since 1981, before finding more inspiration in Paris. The first full song written was "Deep Space," precipitating a spurt of creativity from October 1983. Recording work for the album began on January 18, 1984 and was completed on June 1 before a September release date.
The opening instrumental "Prelude to Gravity," written in France and London, was originally titled "Things Made of Glass" and was written by Jones for inclusion in a planned children's fantasy she wrote about "two little girls who keep their most prized possessions, thoughts and dreams in these special jars."
The album ends with a musical suite entitled "Rorschachs," with "Theme for the Pope" co-written by long-time collaborator and former romantic partner Sal Bernardi.
Track listing
All songs written, arranged and composed by Rickie Lee Jones, excepted when noted- "Prelude to Gravity"
- "Gravity"
- "Juke Box Fury"
- "It Must Be Love"
- "Magazine"
- "The Real End"
- "Deep Space"
- "Runaround"
- "Rorschachs (Theme for the Pope)" (Sal Bernardi, Jones) - Instrumental on CD releases, vocal on some vinyl and cassette
- "The Unsigned Painting/The Weird Beast"
Critical reception
New York Times, Sep. 16, 1984 - "Miss Jones is still looking for direction on The Magazine. She doesn't want to be one more pop songwriter, but she knows better than to go off the deep end. The Magazine leaves us awaiting Miss Jones's next step, and provides some enigmas while we wait."Daily Collegian, Penn State University, Oct. 15, 1984 - "The Magazine does insert a few more classic cuts and several mighty listenable selections into Jones' musical lexicon. You can't help wishing, though, that she had stuck to more earthbound topics and unforced rhythms that made her past efforts such pleasures."
New Straits Times (Malaysia), Dec. 2, 1984 - "The music skips, almost nonchalantly, from sparse hymn-like melodies to lilting moods to fractured beats, conveying jazz shadings and evoking appropriate atmospherics."
Time, Dec. 17, 1984 - "This is only her third full album, and she seems bent on proving, quite unnecessarily, what she has already established: she is the most enterprising woman writer making records today. The Magazine, a spiraling cycle of songs organized around themes of loneliness, defiance, memory and renewal, seems as if it was long and hard in coming."
Personnel
Rickie Lee Jones - vocals, piano, synthesizer, horn arrangement- Victor FeldmanVictor FeldmanVictor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
- percussion - James Newton HowardJames Newton HowardJames Newton Howard is an American composer best known for his scores to motion pictures. He is one of the most popular and respected composers for cinema, and has scored over 100 films...
- synthesizer, string arrangements - Sal Bernardi - acoustic guitar, vocals
- Michael BoddickerMichael BoddickerMichael J. Boddicker , is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. Three times N.A.R.A.S. Most Valuable Player "Synthesizer" and MVP Emeritus, he was awarded a Grammy as a songwriter for Imagination from Flashdance in 1984...
- synthesizer, programming - Lenny CastroLenny CastroLenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
- percussion - Nick DeCaro - accordion
- Nathan EastNathan EastNathan Harrell East is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego...
- bass - Buzz FeitenBuzz FeitenHoward "Buzz" Feiten is a North American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and session musician.He is best known as a lead and rhythm electric guitarist, and for having patented a unique, scientifically designed tuning system which re-configures its stringboard / neck for more accurate tonality...
- guitar - Steve GaddSteve GaddSteve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
- drums - Jerry HeyJerry HeyJerry Hey is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Thriller and the distinctive flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit Longer....
- horn, horn arrangements - David HungateDavid HungateDavid Hungate is a bass player noted as a member of Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1977-1982. Boz Scaggs's Silk Degrees album of 1976 included Hungate and several other future members of Toto...
- bass - Neil Larsen - organ, DX-7 synthesizer, wurlitzer
- Steve LukatherSteve LukatherSteve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
- guitar - Marty PaichMarty PaichMartin Louis "Marty" Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, producer, music director and conductor....
- string arrangements - Jeff PorcaroJeff PorcaroJeffrey Thomas "Jeff" Porcaro was an American session drummer and a founding member of the Grammy Award winning band Toto. Porcaro was one of the most recorded drummers in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions...
- drums - Dean ParksDean ParksDean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
- guitar - Jeff Pevar - guitar, mandolin
- Greg PhillinganesGreg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganes is an active session keyboardist in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Cass Technical High School, Detroit Michigan....
- Fender Rhodes
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | US Billboard 200 | 44 |
| 1984 | Top Jazz Albums | 20 |
| 1984 | UK album chart | 40 |
Singles - Billboard
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "The Real End" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 82 |
Miscellanea
- The original title for "Prelude to Gravity" was "Things Made of Glass" and was written originally to accompany a short story Jones had written about two girls who keep their most prized possessions in jars. The song was written partly in Paris and partly in London.
- Jones had written fragments of "Juke Box Fury," "Gravity," and "Runaround" in 1981.
- "The Real End" and "It Must Be Love" were two of the later inclusions.