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Does Norah Jones really make you “Feel Like Home?”
The second album from Norah Jones, Feels Like Home, has the kind of music that makes you want to curl up with a good book in front of an open fire and imagine you’re somewhere else.
I’m quite a fan of chill-out music and I have to say that although the sound is nowhere close to the kind of the digital soothing I’m used to, Norah Jones goes down like a warm hot chocolate on a winter’s day. With The Handsome Band supporting Norah’s vocals and some special guests, the cd starts with Sunrise, the only single released off it so far.
Continuing through the record the mood is retained; easy and familiar as if she’s been singing for years longer than is possible. Jones has written or co-written six of the thirteen songs and combines beautiful harmonies with background singer Daru Oda with a simple set of guitars, bass and drums for a sound that makes you feel like the day is just breaking.
Further on Carnival Town has a sleepy rested feel which is directly contrasted but still in the same genre as Creepin’ In, that has Dolly Parton lending her voice to the background vocals. After a few more less mellow tracks Humble Me is once again so restful you could very well nod off to it. Yes-it is that relaxing. In fact, it is so relaxing my favourite time to listen to it is when I’m drifting off to sleep.
The production team is equally talented this time around, with the same crispness and cleanness that accompanied the first album. Producer Arif Mardin has also lent his hands to greats such as Aretha Franklin and Willie Nelson and is responsible for the sparse, gentle style that permeates both of Norah’s CD’s.
Norah describes this record as a little different to her last, “I’m very proud of my first record, but I was ready for something a little different. This time it’s not quite as mellow, but it’s still pretty low-key.” *
Recorded in two sessions in a New York studio, I recommend this album to anyone who liked the first and perhaps to those that might not usually listen to this style. I’m quite a pop and hip hop fan with a foray into jazz every so often, but this record delivers something so inoffensive and easy listening, the adult contemporary radio stations will surely snap it right up.
Source: Thread.co.nz
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