Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.86 You Save: $4.03 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.39 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Come Away With Me
Free Music Review: Smoke & Honey
Hit: 5 Stars
"This is really the record I wanted to make." -Nora Jones
Norah Jones was born in Brooklyn and raised in Dallas, Texas. Her love for Jazz evolved while attending Dallas' Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She then majored in jazz piano at the University of North Texas for two years.
She then took a trip to New York and while this started as a summer vacation, Norah was soon found herself hanging around local songwriters and became inspired to write some original songs.
"The music scene is so huge. I found it very exciting. I especially enjoyed hearing amazing songwriters at places like The Living Room. Everything opened up for me. I couldn't leave."
She has performed with the Laszlo band and in Wax Poetic. Eventually she joined a band with local songwriter Jesse Harris where she sang and played piano.
In January 2001 she signed with Blue Note Records. This is her first Blue Note release and was produced by Arif Mardin, Jay Newland and Craig Street.
Norah includes classic tunes from Hank Williams', "Cold, Cold Heart," J.D. Loudermilk's "Turn Me On," and Hoagy Charmichael's "The nearness of You." Then she delights with originals by her bandmates. Jesse Harris', "Don't Know Why" and Lee Alexander, "Seven Years" are beautiful songs that leave you so nostalgic for the past, yet they are new songs.
She is inspired by the music of yesterday and loves Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles.
I can't believe she has just tuned 23!
Ok, so I listened to this CD about 10 times today! Here is what I think of each song:
Don't Know Why - A slow seduction of words that evoke a feeling of absolute longing, yet a certain resolution instead of taking action.
Seven Years - Innocence personified.
"Fragile as a leaf in autumn
Just fallin' to the ground
Without a sound"
Cold Cold Heart - Norah's voice melts this silky smooth song.
Feelin' The Same Way - Nice twisty little number that seems to spin in circles. This song brings out the smoky elements in her voice.
Come Away With Me - The pace drops to melting snow. It is terribly romantic as she sings of wanting to wake up with the rain falling on a tin roof in the arms of the one she loves.
Shoot The Moon - Moody Blue Song.
Turn Me On - The pace picks up and Norah sings of a flower waiting to bloom and a light bulb in a dark room. Cute song actually. One of my favorites.
Lonestar - Country flavor. She wishes for a sign in the night sky.
I've Got to See You Again - Pure seduction. Norah's voice really comes alive in this song. I'm thinking this is what we can look forward to in the future!
Painter Song - Fun, dreamy melody about being a painter. French café flair fantasy about being in a painting.
One Flight Down - Almost matter-of-fact. Norah's voice is very clear in this song and quite strong. I like trying to figure out Jesse Harris' song with all their secret meanings.
Nightingale - Almost has a lullaby quality.
The Long Day is Over - Perhaps the slowest song, perfect to fall asleep to.
The Nearness of You - Then, this will wake you up a bit, yet it still has a sleepy and breathy quality.
Smooth Sexy Selections in a Dreamy World of Jazz, Soul and Country. Nora Teases the listener with her voice, mercilessly.
~The Rebecca Review
Free Music Review: it's no use
Hit: 5 Stars
I tried to stay off the Norah Jones bandwagon, honest I did.
Down in Costa Rica, trying to live a humble honest-man's life, feeling deeply for the Latin musicians who were so very, very good but never had a chance to be heard by the big-spending millions because they were three yards off the marketing juggernaut's path ...
Norah, I says to myself, Norah doesn't need one more gringo buyin' her CDs, one more nameless addition to the anonymous pile of her fans.
Just about then the vague fear of losing out on something genuinely big set in. I responded prudently and did the only thing a 'spectable man could do: I borrowed a friend's copy of COME AWAY WITH ME and played it while the family slept in the Toyota Landcruiser on the way back from a long, lovely weekend in Savegre, where trout streams pound down out of the cloud-forested mountains, dogs run to their dog hearts' delight, and stressed out educators stare out at the blue sky and green hills and wonder about things.
Norah didn't click with me on that low-volume car ride and I almost sensed a quick triumph. But she was just gettin' started.
Now, five years and countless listenings later, I come again under the spell of this effortlessly laid-back singer's song. It is so very, very sweet.
The disk opens with Norah's relentlessly enigmatic 'Don't Know Why', a look-back to what might have been. This notion falls smack dab in the center of Blues Cosmology, but somehow rarely gets sung quite so persuasively. 'I left you by the house of fun, I don't know why I didn't come', she explains. The 'what if' question will endure a lifetime:
'Out across the endless sea
I would die in ecstasy
But I'll be a bag of bones
Driving down the road alone
My heart is drenched in wine
But you'll be on my mind
Forever.'
Norah didn't write these words. Her task is simply to turn them into poignant sound that catches a snag on the heart's doorknob and hangs there as long as memory lingers.
Yet she is no one-note crooner. From the über-sultry 'Turn Me On', to the tango-esque (yes, indeed) 'I've Got to See You Again', Norah simply convinces her listener that she's articulating the sentiment for the very first time.
'Lines on your face don't bother me
Down in my chair where you dance over me
I can't help myself
I've got to see you again
Late in the night when I'm all alone
And I look at the clock and I know you're not home
I can't help myself
I've got to see you again
I could almost go there
Just to watch you be seen
I could almost go there
Just to live in a dream'
Come to think of it, the doorknob has snagged itself more than one memory, this time of a weathered face the seeing of which marked a point of no turning back. Norah looks too young to know about such moments, but truth is in the telling. She tells it well.
Norah has not followed this break-out CD with promiscuous releases.
Rather, she's chosen to let us savour, return again, remember with her. Just like she sings.
Mind the door knob.
Free Music Review: Don't know why you wouldn't love her
Hit: 5 Stars
Norah Jones was the kind of cathardic musical experience I was expecting from the overhyped John Mayer: A musician so incredible, so wholly unto her own style, and completely immersed in the love of her craft. In every song Ms. Jones does, she never oversings to show off her range, never goes over the top with her piano abilities, and never once strays from the mood she wants to set with her music. It's not enough just to listen to Norah Jones, you have to fall in love with her. And her music makes it easy. It's the music of a lounge singer who doesn't care whether or not she wins eight Grammys and steals the show away from the pop stars. Not too long ago, Norah Jones was simply a lounge singer, occasionally opening for some bands and artists around the country. Now she is the name on the billboard, and deservedly so."Come Away With Me" landmarks the beginning of what is sure to be a career that will hike up to the stratospheres of Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. It is one of the most perfect albums of the last several years, and I know it won't be the last from Norah. True, the category of Best New Artist at the Grammys seems to carry with it a curse of some kind (remember Christopher Cross from back in the 80's who sang the infamous theme from "Arthur"?), but while most of the past winners in this category are practically embodiments of the trends of the time, Norah Jones has a timeless quality to her music. "Don't Know Why" and "The Nearness of You" would have been right at home in the smoke-filled bars of the 40's, with Humphrey Bogart sitting at a table with his black pants, white suit coat, and glass of bourbon. But, not surprisingly, it also works today. There's a reason why people still tap their feet to "Brown Eyed Girl," mouth the words to "Pretty Woman," and why Elvis' single "A Little Less Conversation" saw more popularity last year than it ever has: This music worked/works/will continue to work for generations after we're gone. Norah Jones fits into this group nicely; her music reaches out across the years to attract listeners as young as my niece and as old as my grandmother. And she can do this so easily because she loves what she does, because she's humble about it, and because she's just that wonderful.
Norah Jones was the closest thing to an impulse purchase I've ever made for a CD. It's some of the best money I've ever spent. Of course, the first track ("Don't Know Why") is phenomenal. The rest of the album is populated with songs that are just as spectacular and understated. One of my favorites, which I listen to religiously every night, is "The Long Day is Over," which I plan to use in my film (shooting this summer). It's a song of such true emotion that evokes such a response from within me that I couldn't help but love it. The same qualities exist throughout, but think of how much of an accomplishment that is....
But if I were to go over every song saying what was great about it, I'd be here forever, and I don't want to take up anymore of your time. Suffice it to say that Norah Jones is a spectacular new artist who I hope will decide to stick around to populate the air waves with her amazing musical talents for decades to come.
Free Music Review: A Style of Singing from Days Gone By
Hit: 5 Stars
Several things strike me as I listen to selections from this CD. First, Norah clearly sings like a lounge singer from an era gone by. Second, the singing style is somewhat laconic. Third, the focus here is on her voice and her singing style, and not on the instruments. The bottom line is that this music is about as far away from modern pop and rock as you can get and not be opera.Norah and this CD garnered an amazing five Grammy awards, including best album and best new artist. The question is whether the hype matches the quality of Norah's singing and this CD. I also wonder whether the success of this CD is somewhat of a backlash to the extreme that pop and rock music has drifted with artists such as Marilyn Manson, Hatebreed, and others in the metal and thrash rock arena.
In answer to the first question, Norah has a decent voice. You can understand her sultry words and she treats her voice as an instrument. The music is pretty and mellow, though exceedingly slow (which thus generates the lounge singer comment earlier). Given that Norah can sing so well, I think she has the ability to sing faster-paced songs and thus the ability to pick up the pace of a CD. This CD ends up being romantic mood music for a date or for a lounge and not something I would listen to while driving. However, it does make for decent background music at work because it allows me to concentrate.
As for my second question, I think that in all things there must be balance, and as pop and rock become more extreme, I think it becomes inevitable that a mellow artist would gain the attention of the music world just to have a break. Norah is not the only artist to cash in on this trend, as women such as Diana Krall and Charlotte Church presaged Norah's popularity. Also, it is nice to have a singer who relies on her voice rather than exposure of miscellaneous body parts to gain attention.
The real problem I have with this CD is that with all the beautiful voices in music today, including women like Diana Krall and Charlotte Church (and many more!), why did awards organizations have to wait until this particular CD to recognize that there is a lot of underappreciated, beautiful music being sung by beautiful voices other than Norah's? To focus on this one album seems to be a put down to all the other talent that is either in this genre, and is closely associated to this genre. Such focus on one person seems a bit suspicious to me.
Putting aside my wonders at the foibles of the music industry, the singing on this CD is the focus of the CD. The singing is very well done, albeit somewhat slow. I would give this CD 4.5 out of 5 stars in its genre, if 4.5 were allowed. However, understand the style before you buy the CD, because the style may be too divergent from current pop for some listener's tastes.
Free Music Review: Pleasant and relaxing album to listen to
Hit: 5 Stars
I was so astonished with Norah Jones' "newfound-glory" to fame, walking-away with multiple Grammy's in-tow at the last "Grammy Awards" ceremony...whereupon which I was compelled to buy her latest album-release "Come Away With Me." (I was surprised Avril Lavigne, didn't get any.) I've been listening to it a lot. I'm listening to it right now as I'm writing this review. This album's is as smooth as a Starbuck's cappuccino. There are so many good songs on this album to wet your pallet. It's like you're eating this creamy, delectable-desert with your sweetheart at a fancy, romantic, candle-lit restaurant.
Anyway, her latest album-release, is a "pleasant and relaxing album to listen to." The sincere-effort's she puts into this CD are noteworthy: with the impeccable-singing, and song-writing skills she possesses. Moreover, it's a rhapsody of this young-woman's God-given talents.
This is a brilliant album. With Norah's "sultry-sounding" voice -the "virtuoso" that she is - comes-off sounding very similar to the likes of Diana Krall and Natalie Cole. Her music has this kind of sound to it, where she's performing at "The Starlight Lounge." (I'd love to have her sing at my wedding someday.)
She's this "romantic-songstress" that takes your breath away, whose articulate-blend of song-writing and singing, soothes and relaxes the soul. I'm so mesmerized, by her immaculate-beauty and charm.
I saw a special "cameo-appearance" of Norah in "Two-Week's Notice" starring the British hearthrob, Hugh Grant with his beautiful, unassuming co-star, Sandra Bullock. Norah had performed a couple of songs in the movie, which I enjoyed immensely.
"Don't Know Why" is one of her signature-songs on the album... it's what catapulted her to "multi-platinum" success, garnering praise the world over. The melodic "Cold Cold Heart" has a jazzy-like feel to it, it's one of my favorite tracks on the CD.
This album is refreshing. It's gives us a break from all the monotany with the "teeny-bopper" music scene i.e., Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Norah writes all of her songs - unlike some of her counterparts. Therefore, I'm more inclined to listen to a CD where the artist writes their own material.
She will rise to the top as a "living-legend" in the music world. There's no one else quite like her: with her musical-prowess playing the piano, and her unforgettable-voice, she will undoubtedly set the precedent for years to come. There's no catchy lyrics in "Come Away With Me." It's an album you'll have to adjust your mind to. You've got to able to appreciate the sincere-efforts that Norah has put into this great album.