The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard (2007)

The onetime Tom Waits paramour and self-dubbed Duchess of Coolsville is definitely still cool, but she's also with Christ — transferring the folk L.A. aesthetic of her 1970s prime onto a Bible-centric narrative. These tracks are the antithesis of church-camp sing-alongs, enriched by roadhouse rhythms and her distinctive whiskey-soaked voice. The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard is not quite as transcendent as some of her earlier work, but it's still vintage Rickie Lee Jones, and way more rocking than your average Sunday-school primer.

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