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Customer Reviews of Pirates

Music for the stoop
I was seven years old when this album came out. I wish I could say I grew up listening to Rickie Lee, but that would be a lie. I didn't discover her until high school. But to me, this album still conjures that time perfectly - hanging out on the stoop in West Philly, playing in the sandbox, Sesame street, all the shaggy-haired hippies entering the 1980s, all of it! An old friend from a nearby neighborhood has memories of roller skating around the dining room to this album and wondering what c**t-finger Louie meant. Listening to Pirates is like reading Jack Kerouac for the first time when you were a teenager. It's that bittersweet, highly romantic, pulsing-with-life thing that is just intoxicating. There is no better feeling in the world (although there are a few close contenders). The difference is that Pirates does it to me every time, whereas I could only read Kerouac a few times before it became a little stale.

Every part of this album is perfect, down to the romantic picture on the cover. The production is simply amazing. Those analog synths twist my insides up. Sometimes I just can't take it!

I am moving to the New Mexico desert in a few months, so Flying Cowboys will probably be spending more time on the record player. But until then, it's all about Pirates. I can't believe that one person made both of those albums. What a gift.

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Rickie Lee's Masterwork
"Pirates" is a difficult but musically (and emotionally) rewarding album. I believe that it sounds better as time goes by, though unlike some Pop albums, "Pirates" ages like a fine wine, not cheese. To be fair, this isn't truly a Pop album, but given the imprecision of most stylistic terms (Rock, Soul, etc.) and the wide range of musical influences here, it would seem to become popular music by default.

Like Rickie's self-titled debut, "Pirates" is a collection of mostly acoustic music, with snatches of Folk, R&B, Blues, Torch, and what is now called "New Age" material. Then (1981) as now, it is a unique combination of lyrical prose and inspired musical drama. The tone is often somber and dead serious, but there are moments where a "good time" vibe ("Woody and Dutch...") and Rickie's self-effacing humor ("A Lucky Guy") lighten the mood.

Though a superficial reading of this album would suggest it's about Rickie's failed affair with mentor/lover Tom Waits, the topical and emotional focus of this album would seem to be solitude...reflections on the state of being alone and adrift. And though Rickie's phrasing/vocalizing is atypical for Pop music, the directness and passion of her performance is shiver-inducing. Attentive (and willing) listeners will experience feelings beyond empathy, as if the pain and disillusion comes from within and not from Rickie's words and music. To put it more succinctly, only a dim-witted lout or cynical misanthrope could listen to this album and not be moved in some way.

The "best" of this album is hard to define, as different listeners will have different songs that define their listening experience. For me, there are four selections that stand out. "Living It Up" is a story lyric written over a gorgeous, forlorn piano motif. "Skeletons," another spare musical tale, is a heart-rending true story set to gentle piano and string accompaniment. "Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)" is the album's centerpiece; like a page from the book of her soul, the changing tempos and emotional dynamics of this song seem to reveal Rickie's love of life, despite the fact that her "pirate" has yet to spirit her away. At first, "A Lucky Guy" would seem to be about the kind of carefree, irresponsible person who charms their way into a person's life, then leaves as soon as their spirit moves them. But as the song comes to a close, it's Rickie herself who has become the "lucky guy," if only to spare herself shame and hurt. There is pain and regret in her voice, but she is not a victim.

Though the lives and experiences of Rickie's street-wise, Bohemian protagonists may seem far removed from the lives of her fans, the directness of her observations is all-inclusive. "Pirates" is the kind of minor key masterwork that sounds intensely personal, just as it offers a glimpse at the universe of human emotion.

-Mic

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Another gem, moving away from the fans....
I was so eager to get this when it first came out. I was someone
dissapointed at my first listens but it has grown on me over
the years, so many songs on the sad side but riveting and mature with the quality of what Steely Dan was putting out at the time. I just loved the fun coolsville Rickie and missed it
on this collection.