Being There

Norah Jones - The Fall (2009)

One of my all-time favorite performances by Norah Jones is the version of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” that she played at the end of her visit to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic in the winter of 2002. Her debut album, Come Away With Me, had just been released on Blue Note Records two days prior and Jones seemed eager and excited to be sharing some of her new songs with Los Angeles-area listeners and those (like me) who were tuning in online.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it was about Jones’ performance that struck me. Certainly her sophisticated piano playing, rooted in jazz, was memorable, as was her distinctive voice – somehow shy and soulful at the same time. I think what appealed to me the most was the fact that she was a jazz artist who wasn’t afraid to push the envelope. This become clear when listening to Come Away With Me, which drew in jazz, soul and pop influences and expressed them with equal compassion. It also explained the choice of a Bob Dylan song that was more country or folk in its composition than anything else. (“Bessie Smith,” a track from Bob Dylan & The Band’s The Basement Tapes would later join Jones’ live repertoire). Jones could’ve given the song a completely different arrangement, but she retained a lot of the country soul sensibility of the original.

Although Come Away With Me took a few months to ascend the Billboard charts, it eventually led Norah Jones to receive six Grammy Awards. From there, she quickly became an international sensation.

In the years following her initial wave of success, Norah Jones released two additional albums – Feels Like Home (2004) and Not Too Late (2007). Both were commercially successful, though it quickly became clear that Jones was being pigeonholed into the Easy Rock/Adult Contemporary/MOR genres, labels that all overlooked a significant aspect of what the artist was all about.

It’s hard for us as listeners and casual observers to know if Norah Jones sought to shed some of her mainstream reputation with the release of The Fall, but it’s clear from the opening notes of “Chasing Pirates” that the album is a departure from her previous efforts. For one thing, it rocks harder – particularly on tracks like “Young Blood” and “It’s Gonna Be.” More often than not, Jones is playing guitar instead of piano.

The album also has a much darker sound, probably because Jones sought the involvement of Jacquire King, the engineer behind one of her favourite albums: Tom Waits’ Mule Variations. Other collaborators involved in the songwriting or performance of these songs include Ryan Adams, Will Sheff (of Okkervil River), drummer Joey Waronker and guitarist Marc Ribot.

Norah Jones manages to accomplish something new with The Fall without alienating her existing fanbase. Even if listeners are a bit jarred by the racious keyboards and drums of “It’s Gonna Be,” they’ll find familiar territory in tracks like “Light as a Feather,” “Back to Manhattan” and “December.” These ballads are as good as any that Norah has ever done.

It’s well worth the extra $1 or $2 to purchase the deluxe edition of The Fall, which includes six cuts recorded live at the Living Room in New York City, including “It’s Gonna Be,” “Waiting” and “You’ve Ruined Me” as well as covers of Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.,” Johnny Cash’s “Cry Cry Cry” and The Kinks’ “Strangers.”

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 6:51 am and is filed under Album Review, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.