"Norah Jones - Feels Like Home"

Picked up Norah Jones' second album, Feels Like Home, this afternoon. It's rare that I purchase an entire CD based solely on one song, but that was the case with this disc.

The tune was the lead-off single from the album, "What am I to you?" It's got a wonderful feel to it, and Norah Jones' voice is a warm, evocative, and melodic one.

The album has a late-night, the party's just ended and a bunch of friends are sitting around playing old favorites feel to it. It's very mellow, very subdued, almost sleepy. Norah and her band manage to maintain this vibe throughout the album, and it never gets old, though it does almost lull you into a comfortable fuzz.

Instrumentation on the disc is sparse and mostly acoustic. The few examples of electrified instruments--mostly guitars, and only on a couple of songs--are still subtle and low-key, and keep to the mellow mood very well.

There are a couple of effective covers in the set, including an old Duke Ellington tune which Norah Jones wrote lyrics for. There are also a couple of guest spots, such as Dolly Parton and Levon Helm (formerly of the Band), but the guests never overwhelm Norah. Really, this album sounds like the work of a group of musicians who are very comfortable with one another and don't feel the need to attempt to outdo each other with solos or pyrotechnics.

Though the music has a uniformity to it in terms of musicianship and beauty, there is an impressive diversity of musical styles across the album. "Creepin' In," with Dolly Parton, is a fun little bluegrass/jug band tune, while other tunes range from folk to gospel to a jazzy blues. But they all sound of a piece, and fit together very well. None of the tunes seem out of place or jarring, but none of them blur into one another and become indistinguishable, either.

If you dig mellow, subtle music with simple pleasures, then this album will not disappoint. It's chock-full of beauty, smooth arrangements, evocative lyrics, and Norah's warm, appreciable voice.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Norah Jones, "Sunrise"