The summer had inhaled, and held its breath too long...

What a perfect first line.

I first heard the song "Comin Back To Me" sung by Rickie Lee Jones, on her Pop Pop album. It was love at first listen. The songwriter as poet has always been something special to me and these lyrics are an incredible example. Spare, poignant, and so evocative.

As is Rickie's expression of this masterpiece.

(And before the Jefferson Airplane fans line up to stone me in the street, please remember I was born in 1960 and the song was released in 1967)

And not being curious about covers it was a shamefully long time before I sought out the original. Also, of course, amazing.

I have been re-visiting some albums (do we still call them that?) that have meant a lot to me, and I have to say that when I listened to Rickie singing this song tonight, I held my breath so I would not sob. 

I like the original, but am loyal to the RLJ version, she extracts something that lay beneath the original recording and takes the lyrics to a place far beyond. I wonder if Marty Balin likes her cover?

Anyway, I am sharing them both here, Rickie first because that's the way I heard it first.