Norah Jones is sporting a new look and a new sound
quote:
Multi-Grammy Award winner Norah Jones is set to unveil her first album in three years, and she has freshened up her look and her sound. The singer/songwriter has a shorter, highlighted hairdo and a still-untitled collection tentatively scheduled for release in November. The album was recorded in New York and Los Angeles with producer Jacquire King, who has previously worked with Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon and Tom Waits.
Jones' new songs include collaborations with longtime cohort Jesse Harris, who wrote her breakthrough hit Don't Know Why, as well as alt-rock darlings Ryan Adams and Will Sheff.
She'll be joined by a new team of musicians, including respected veterans such as drummer Joey Waronker and guitarist Marc Ribot.
Jones herself "got to play a lot of electric guitar" during sessions, in addition to piano and keyboards.
"I thought this record was a good opportunity to try some new sounds and play with some new people," Jones says. "I wanted it to sound a little rougher around the edges."
I like her new look a lot. I'll give her one more chance.
"They made a porn movie about Sarah Palin, and the same actress, Lisa Ann, played me in the porn version of '30 Rock.' Weirdly, of the three of us, Lisa Ann knows the most about foreign policy."
~ Tina Fey
Posts: 24790 | Location: North Carolina, USA | Registered: April 11, 2005
Originally posted by MissyGal: Yea! New Norah! I don't know why so many people dislike her, though.
Do the sleepy icons not give it away? She makes some nice music, but she is boring. She does not come off as interesting and her music is sleep-inducing. Since her debut, she hasn't really done anything new to peak interest. Her albums have decreased in quality since her debut, especially when she decided she was a songwriter. Also, not to mention for a while there, she was MASSIVELY overpraised, and that definitely got on a few nerves.
Her new sound might interest me though because I like Kings of Leon and Modest Mouse, so it will be interesting to see what Jacquire King brings.
Posts: 8671 | Location: Canada | Registered: October 26, 2005
This is great news! I'm one of those who ranks Norah Jones' music as one my favs. (In my opinion, this is good old fashioned singing with organic instrumentation. No unnatural whistles, all-over-the place vocal gymnastics, over-production, auto-tune, annoying wailings etc)
More from her official website:
Norah Jones will release her fourth studio album on Blue Note Records this November. Jones wrote nearly all of the songs in the past two years since completing tours in support of her 2007 global chart-topping, U.S. double-platinum album Not Too Late.
Jones has taken a new direction on the as-yet-untitled album, seeing it as a chance to experiment with different sounds and an opportunity to work with a new set of collaborators, including Jacquire King, a noted producer and engineer who has worked with Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, and Modest Mouse among others. Jones also enlisted several songwriting collaborators, including Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, as well as her frequent partner Jesse Harris.
“I knew I wanted to try some different things on this album,” Jones says. “I’d been playing with the same musicians for a long time. We’re all still friendly and I hope we play together again, but it felt like a good time to work with new people and experiment with different sounds. As far as a producer, I wanted someone who could take me out of my comfort zone and find the right musicians to capture what I wanted to do with this collection of songs. I got in touch with Jacquire initially because he engineered one of my favorite records of all time, Tom Waits’ Mule Variations. He was really eager to do it and we got along really well, which was important.”
King helped Jones put together a new group of musicians to perform on the album, including drummers Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) and James Gadson (Bill Withers), keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green), and guitarists Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer). Jones and King tailored the songs to the musicians’ strengths. “I think the record sounds different due to the variety of musicians we used,” Jones says, “I knew I wanted to play with grooves more than I have on previous albums. Some of these new songs lent themselves to having driving rhythms underneath.”
Another noticeable change on Jones’ upcoming album is that she plays mostly guitar. “I actually write more on guitar than I do on piano,” she says. “It just felt more natural for me to play it on these songs.”
More details about Norah Jones’ upcoming album will be announced soon.
Posts: 362 | Location: Australia | Registered: December 09, 2006
Following her surprise appearance yesterday at Apple's press conference in San Francisco, multiple Grammy Award-winner Norah Jones has announced the title and release date of her upcoming album, 'The Fall.'
The new album, her fourth studio set, will be released by EMI's Blue Note Records on 16 November (17 November in the US) and will feature cover artwork shot by photographer Autumn De Wilde. The album saw her working with several songwriting collaborators including Ryan Adams and Okkervil River's Will Sheff, as well as her frequent partners Jesse Harris and Richard Julian. Jones also worked with producer and engineer Jacquire King who also helped her put together a new group of musicians to perform on the album, including drummers Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) and James Gadson (Bill Withers), keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green), and guitarists Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer).
Jones was the guest performer yesterday at Apple's 'Its Only Rock n' Roll' press conference. Her album 'Come Away With Me' is one of the first to be released in the iTunes LP format. After being introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, she performed 'Come Away With Me' and debuted the new song 'Young Blood' from her upcoming album.
The track listing for The Fall is as follows:
1. Chasing Pirates (Norah Jones) 2. Even Though (Norah Jones/Jesse Harris) 3. Light As a Feather (Norah Jones/Ryan Adams) 4. Young Blood (Norah Jones/Mike Martin) 5. I Wouldn't Need You (Norah Jones) 6. Waiting (Norah Jones) 7. It's Gonna Be (Norah Jones) 8. You've Ruined Me (Norah Jones) 9. Back To Manhattan (Norah Jones) 10. Stuck (Norah Jones/Will Sheff) 11. December (Norah Jones) 12. Tell Yer Mama (Norah Jones/Jesse Harris/Richard Julian) 13. Man Of The Hour (Norah Jones)
Grammy FYC: Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak; Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D.; John Legend, Evolver; Paolo Nutini, Sunny Side Up; David Guetta, One Love; Kelly Clarkson, "Already Gone"; Jordin Sparks, "Battlefield"; Kings Of Leon, "Use Somebody"; Maxwell, "Pretty Wings"
Eh "Chasing Pirates" is ok. It isn't bad, but it isn't great either. Unfortunately, I think the critics were right about Norah. Back in 2003 after Norah had won those five Grammys and sold all those records, critics predicted that eventually Norah would fade away and wouldn't see much commercial success. Norah pretty much silenced the critics after her next album sold four million in the U.S. But her last album disappointed and now this new album has zero buzz.
I think The Fall is D.O.A. I used to be a Norah fan, but I just got disinterested. I do think Not Too Late is pretty good, though. I'll listen to this new album when it leaks, but I have no interest in pursuing Norah's new album unless the material is really good. Sadly, this first single has NOT peaked my interest in this album.
The first time I listened to "Chasing Pirates", it seemed rather flat. But after a couple of listens, the slight hook, newly developed nasal-ish quality to her smokey voice and interesting arrangement sort of pulled me in. I'm definitely looking forward to her new direction, although I'll still miss the piano. I'll definitely be buying the CD, but I don't know how well she'll do. Perhaps I don't really care - I'd rather Norah Jones remain the well kept secret a few of us had before Come Away With Me went and got nommed and won 8 Grammys.
Posts: 362 | Location: Australia | Registered: December 09, 2006
