Album Review: Norah Jones – Begin Again (Blue Note)

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Seventeen years after her breakthrough debut album, Come Away With Me, Norah Jones still seems intent on distancing herself from the sound that made her a household name.

Easy listening music get a bad rap, and as popular and listenable as Come Away With Me was, Jones quickly saw the writing on the wall. She could continue to make variations on that smooth jazz/pop sound and eventually be written off as a musical lightweight…a one-trick pony…or she could stretch out, experiment and simultaneously frustrate those who want Come Away With Me V2.

She chose the latter.

Begin Again…the very title almost sounds as if Jones want to hit the reset button, as if Come Away With Me never happened…is Norah’s 7th studio album. Actually it’s more a collection of singles released over the past year, rather than a cohesive work, but, having said that, the seven songs do seem to hang together pretty well.

Jones and her group of backing musicians, including the always innovative drummer/percussionist Brian Blade sound as though they’ve allowed themselves the freedom to do whatever they want in the studio.

That loose feel begins with the opening track, the stirring, My Heart Is Full. The mostly electronic backing track builds up as Norah sings, “Are we broken?”…then, “I will rise!”.

Questions abound among the songs here. On the title track, Jones asks, “Can we believe?”, “Do I think way too much”, and “Can a nation built on blood find its way out of the mud”?

You won’t find many answers here, but you will find some innovative, moving music.

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy pops his head in to produce Wintertime and to co-write A Song With No Name, adding his electric and acoustic guitar to the latter along with Jones’ piano and celeste.

But I think my favourite is Uh Oh. The simple, rhythmic track features a girl-group-style call and response over a tense bed of strings and percussion. It’s simple, effective and fun.

Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, Begin Again is something of a placeholder…cleansing the palate and setting the stage for whatever Norah Jones might cook up next. Even so, it’s still worth your consideration.

Marty Duda

 

Marty Duda
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