Album Reviews
Norah Jones: Not Too Late
How do you follow up two Grammy award-winning opuses? Do as Norah Jones would do: put out a third one. Case in point: ‘Not Too Late’ just came in time.
Norah Jones has only really been around for five years, but a more lauded singer-songwriter you would struggle to find. Two exquisite solo releases in ‘Come Away With Me’ and ‘Feels Like Home’, plus The Little Willies project, have built the 27-year-old a considerable, rather devoted fan base. Born on March 30, 1979, in New York City, but raised in a suburb of Dallas, Texas, after relocating south with her mother Sue, Norah Jones showed a strong aptitude for music since childhood. She enrolled in Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts to hone her musical talents. After exposure to several instruments, she realised that she wanted to play the piano.
Perhaps this was always destined for greatness. From an early age, and it was clear that she had inherited the musical talent of her famous father, Indian sitar legend and esteemed Beatles associate Ravi Shankar. But no one, especially Jones herself, could have predicted that her destiny would arrive so quickly, or spectacularly. Already career-minded, she knew that a solid foundation of jazz piano could pave the way for better things.
‘Not Too Late’ features a mere and gentle progression of an already worldly and very distinguishable sound. More typical is the opening “Wish I Could”, which sets those familiar creamy vocals against a sparse, daring backdrop of tinkling acoustic guitar and cellos, while a line like ‘Love in the time of war isn’t fair/ He was my man but they didn’t care’ lends its love-triangle narrative a sharp, contemporary twist. Jones is definitely wading into dark waters and is out with stronger and stranger stories about forbidden love and war. Still there are plenty of soulful mid-tempo ballads, and Jones’ smooth and sexy voice still sneaks up on you as it did on her debut ‘Come Away With Me’.
It’s just that this time round, Jones was actually part of the writing process (with some help from producer/bassist/boyfriend Lee Alexander). Occasionally a more upbeat mood is struck — the second track “Sinking Soon” is an unexpected foray into ’30s jug band blues, with Satchmo-style trumpet and black-humoured Brechtian lyrics about sailing “in a boat that’s built of sticks and hay”. It’s Norah, all right, but not as we know her. “The Sun Doesn’t Like You” is the first real singalong moment of the album, with the infectious chorus ‘Time won’t pass us by and I won’t tell you lies’ sitting beautifully atop swiftly-plucked acoustic guitar rhythms.
The album manifests itself in songs that aren’t particularly distinctive or performances that are particularly varied. There are exceptions to the rule and they all arrive with full band arrangements, whether it’s the lazy jazz shuffle of “Until the End” or the wonderful laidback soul of “Thinking About You”. These are songs that not only sound full but they sound complete, songs that have a purposeful flow and are memorable for both their melody and sentiment. I wasn’t expecting to find a funky song like “Be My Somebody” on a Norah Jones album, but even this one works well for me.
There’s a lot of musicality in play, albeit deceptively subdued. It’s Norah’s album, nonetheless, and what a clever, winning evolution of her talents it is.
Jones’ voice then takes centre stage through her multi-tracked, beautifully harmonised vocal in “Broken”. This otherwise uninspiring song is lifted from the mundane purely by the quality of its singer, and this ultimately is the reason why Norah Jones has succeeded with such rapidity. “Broken” comes set to a murky string quartet. The aching “Wake Me Up” shuffles along to little more than a ghostly steel guitar. “Rosie’s Lullaby”, whose heroine is beckoned to eternal dreams by a crashing ocean drifts past to a sultry electric piano. There are, arguably, one or two lapses in judgment, but even they stem from artistic ambition.
However, Jones evolution as a songwriter is seen in “My Dear Country”, whose waltz-time piano and wry commentary might have sprung from the Randy Newman songbook. ‘Nothing is as scary as election day’, opines Norah, before adding ‘Who knows, maybe the plans will change/ Who knows, maybe he’s not deranged’. It’s a polite, laconic kind of protest song, but protest nonetheless. The darker, more mischievous mood at work is perfectly complemented by arrangements that are as inventive as they are austere. Highlights include the heartbreaker “Wake Me Up”, which features a funny and extensive whistling solo and quiet little song “2men” with a bar room piano and witty lyric that fits nicely into the album.
Mostly, though, the risks pay off. The credit is not all Ms Jones’. Lee Allen, her beau and bassist, is at the production helm of the pair’s recently built studio, and co-writes on several tracks, as do other members of the ‘Handsome Band’ entourage. There’s a lot of musicality in play, albeit deceptively subdued. It’s Norah’s album, nonetheless, and what a clever, winning evolution of her talents it is.
Fine arrangements bolster even the weaker songs here, particularly Lee Alexander’s upright bass and Julia Kent’s cello on Broken. In fact, the strings throughout are superb, thanks to producer Alexander’s choice to leave lots of open space around the instruments in the mix. What’s especially daring about ‘Not Too Late’ is the degree to which Jones and [producer Lee] Alexander trust their songs and her languorous voice to hold the listener’s interest.
On a personal note, I was very excited about the album. I mean, the woman has an incredible voice and is a joy to listen to, but I was a little disappointed for the sole reason that I felt the album was a little dark. The lyrics are a catalyst for political metaphors, making the album more of a lecture than a listening pleasure. The only thing that cheered me up was the musical arrangements and her oh-so-fantabulous voice. If you’re on the lookout for soul stirring music, something that could help you relax after a hard day at work or a die hard fan of her poignant voice then the album won’t be that much of a disappointment.
pawsome baby!!
ya quite good…
for me as a normal listener, as in me not a die hard fan of norah….the review starts well and consequently ends too…
it seems kinda inadequate to mention all songs and their intricate details, as in the description given is neat, but dunno how far was that required.(dunno if you’ve mentioned all songs, seemed like a lot though)
though, by the end of the review, u get more than a ‘fair clue’ with purchasing decisions to be made with regard to the album.
well structured. helpful indeed.
You are good!!! Well wriiten!!!