Yakov and the Seven Thieves first two releases were "The English Roses" (September 2003), and "Mr. Peabody's Apples" (November 2003). Both debuted at number one on "The New York Times" Best Seller list. Joe D'Angelo from MTV News confirmed that the third book would be titled "Yakov and the Seven Thieves". Madonna was again inspired by a 300 year-old story by rabbi Baal Shem Tov that she had heard from her Kabbalah teacher, and wanted to share the "essence" of it. "We must never forget that hidden behind a large amount of darkness is a large amount of light," the singer wrote in the preface.
For the Roses "Creem", he said the music lacked the liveliness of "Blue"s "All I Want" and the lyrics' insularity diminished her voice, but he ultimately regarded the album as a "remarkable work" and the year's aesthetically boldest record. "Mitchell has integrated the strange shifts of her voice into an almost 'classical' sounding music", Christgau wrote, calling it "hypnotic when you give it a chance to work". For the Roses For the Roses is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in November 1972, between her two biggest commercial and critical successes – "Blue" and "Court and Spark". Despite this,