CD REVIEW: Feels like home, sounds like Norah
On her second album, “Feels like Home,” Norah Jones accomplishes what so many other recording artists strive for (but often can’t achieve): Sounding different and fresh, yet not getting too far from their roots. In the case of this album, the title says it all: “Feels like Home,” feels like Jones, from the very first chord of the opening track “Sunrise.” You instantly recognize her soft, consoling voice and the slow soothing rhythm, similar to many of the tracks on her first album, “Come Away with Me,” and it, well, feels like home.
The new spin on the album is a stronger country-orientation. No, wait, that’s not to say that it’s packed with future square-dance classics and that you should run and get your cowboy boots and hat. No, no, no. Don’t worry, Jones hasn’t become a younger version of, say, Dolly Parton (who by the way actually appears on the album, lending her vocals for the up-tempo “Creepin’ in”).
The “country-approach” is very subtle, to be found for example in the vocal harmonies of “In the Morning,” “Carnival Town” and “Be Here to Love me.” It is most obvious overall in the already mentioned “Creepin’ in” (maybe also because of Parton’s trademark voice) and in the Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan cover “The Long Way Home.”
Just imagine typical country songs, stripped of their cheesiness, stripped of all the usual clichés and the cowboy-outfit (still talking about the songs), with a refreshingly different kind of lyrics, and you’re almost there.
Another change from the last album is Jones’ skilled jazz-piano playing, prominently featured on “Come Away with me,” stepping back to let Adam Levy’s and Kevin Brett’s guitars take the center stage in many songs. And that brings me straight to Jones’ brilliant band, “The Handsome Band,” which definitely deserves to be mentioned. Their accompaniment perfectly fits the mood of the songs and so do the solos. They obviously don’t need to show off with tricky drum or guitar fills and flashy “look at me” solos. So if you think that being a great musician isn’t about playing a thousand notes at a time but playing the right notes at the right time, this album is definitely for you. However, all that is not to say that the band play a chord, take a sip of their beer, play the next chord, and so on. If they want to and the song demands it, they can also kick into higher gear. Just check out Kevin Brett’s smoking guitar solo on “Creepin’ in” to see what I mean.
But as I said in the beginning, Jones succeeded in doing something new, while sticking to her roots and preserving some of the crucial elements that made her debut record so successful. Among these are the perfect flawless production, Jones’ soulful piano playing and her refreshing songwriting together with her partner, bassist Lee Alexander. Even though her piano is less-prominent than on the last album, she still works her magic on the keys, especially on the Duke Ellington song “Melancholia,” which she turned into “Don’t miss you at all” by writing lyrics for it.
The songwriting is very different from anything you are used to hearing on the radio. The lyrics actually make sense and are not drowned in clichés that sound like the artist has just finished “Rhyming 1010” (“the stars are bright, love me tonight, everything’s gonna be all right”).
Also, don’t forget to try the CD on your computer as well and check out all the bonus stuff (including two tracks).
Matthias Petry is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to matthias.petry@gmx.net.