Customer Reviews

...Featuring Norah Jones

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

A generous, well-oiled - though incomplete - sampling of Norah Jones' non-album collaborations with her colleagues, "Featuring Norah Jones" is an excellent compilation of wonderful work from the past decade. For fans of Jones who did not realize the great frequency with which she works as a guest and session musician - or lacked the wherewithal to hunt each individual track down - this disc is ideal.

There is quite a diverse array of artists on the disc - from Talib Kwali to Dolly Parton to Outkast - which might lead some to worry that "Featuring Norah Jones" sounds like a bunch of songs thrown together disjointedly. Fortunately, the tracks are sequenced in a way that not only feels natural, ideal for straight-through play, but that highlights Jones' versatility. She is an intriguing, deceivingly simple talent, and a fascinating common denominator.

A few tracks actually predate her "Come Away With Me" success, including the best track here - and still one of the best Jones has ever recorded - "More Than This," a collaboration with the exquisitely talented jazz musician Charlie Hunter from his 2001 release "Songs from the Analog Playground." The Roxy Music cover is blissful, elegant and everlasting in its arrangement, continuing to sound fresh, and Jones' emphatic, less-is-more vocal approach is instantly memorable. It is a track to savor.

The Grammy-winning "Here We Go Again" with the late Ray Charles is a slinky, R&B-flavored treat, even though it could have garnered a Grammy no matter how they arranged it. Tracks with Herbie Hancock and the Foo Fighters are also easy on the ears.

Jones' country leanings show her wide artistic pallete, but they are rather reigned in as opposed to dour, so they can be enjoyed by those listeners who prefer her cocktail jazz stylings. She harmonizes heavenly with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on "Loretta" and waxes poetic with Ryan Adams on "Dear John," a 2005 collaboration from Adams' startlingly executed "Jacksonville City Nights" album. The results sound seamless, clearly the result of great labor and attention to detail. "Creepin' In," a folksy, lighthearted duet with Dolly Parton is the only track to repeat from a Norah Jones release.

Elsewhere, Willie Nelson oozes charm with Jones on "Baby, It's Cold Outside," a Q-Tip and Outkast collaborate to produce cool, trippy sounds on "Life is Better" and "Take Off Your Cool," respectively.

A sprawling, nicely woven collection, "Featuring Norah Jones" is everything it promises to be and more. Nicely complimenting her solo work, it entertains while affirming Jones' post-"Don't Know Why" worth.

I dont know if I am unusual or not, but when Im listening to new music, if the song doesnt catch my ear or pique my interest within the first 30 seconds, then the next track gets played. I dont know that's just me. And, I've always thought that most albums only had about 4-5 decent songs on them and the rest were just fillers. Well, when it comes to this album, I was proved wrong on both of accounts. There were just a handful of songs (out of 18) that just didnt do anything for me within the first 30 seconds and by far most of them are worth listening to. I especially enjoyed her songs with Ray Charles, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but then again I'm an old school kind of guy. This is an album of duets sung throughout her career over the past 10 years. Some of these duets, particularly Love Me with The Little Willies, leaves you wishing they would cut an entire album together. Other duets, leave you just asking `Why?'.
I've been a fan of Norah for a long time, enjoying her unique voice and comittment to pure music and voice. These aren't just leftovers from her past albums or merely Starbuck songs you gently brush away as you grab your mocha. These are glimpses into Norah's music mind and her diverse ability to relate to other genre's thru her music.

This cd has a few songs that I personally like. 'Bull Rider', 'Loretta', and 'Creepin' In' are all great songs if you enjoy older country. I'm a fan of her duets, but when she sings in general on a few of these songs, it's lacking individuality. They all start to mash together and it sounds too familiar. I also really liked that she changed it up and recorded songs with a few hip hop artists. 'Take off your Cool' and 'Life is Better' are both surprisingly good. Her voice sounds more soulful backing the hip hop tracks. There are some songs on here I thought I would like considering I'm a fan of the artist, but they fell short for me.

Norah Jones never ceases to amaze me with her wonderful singing talent. This new album featuring the talents of other artists as well is truly fantastic and a must have not only Norah Jones fans but to anyone who appreciates great music. This album does not dissapoint.

Definitely an eclectic mix of songs and styles on this album. But, I don't think it gave justice to Norah's individual talent. Although it showed a diverse range of her talent, the styles all belonged to others. In my opinion, not her best work.

I love Norah Jones. I think she's beautiful, and her voice is amazing. If anything, this CD shows her versatility; she clearly fits well into just about any genre (and quite a few are present here). So because of her talent alone, I can't rate this album lower than 3 stars, but the people she is singing with and the songs being sung are not good (with few exceptions such as the Foo Fighters duet and the songs previously released on her other albums). I find myself skipping forward to the enxt track on nearly every song because, at best, it just doesn't catch my attention or, at worst, its a terrible song.

Again, I don't blame Norah herself so much; it isn't her contribution that is lacking here. I was actually impressed she could do hip hop so well. But the material itself just didn't support her efforts at all, unfortunately. Luckily, I got this on a lightning deal, so not a lot lost, but unless you're a diehard fan (and you probably own this already anyways), I highly suggest listening before purchasing.

It was amazing to me to see just how many people Norah Jones has sang with, and of all genres too. Most of the songs are too slow for listening too while driving in the car, but perfect for a quiet evening at home with my husband.I really liked listening to Dear John and Virginia Moon. I would consider this an album for a romantic evening and look forward to sharing it with my husband.

This is my first Norah Jones CD. I've heard some of her solo stuff, but never bought any of it. Then I heard this CD playing in a local coffee shop, I originally thought they had multiple CD's on shuffle, and asked to see what it was.

It's a nearly perfect background mix for the holidays. But once you really get into it, you realize how much depth is in the mix. Great song selection, for some of the duets, you have to look at the liner notes to know who is singing on it, there's some really different musical styles for who's on it.

Obviously this is a CD for fans of eclectic vocal mixes, since it crosses a lot of different artists and styles. But, for my money, it does it all very well. Great artists, great songs, great mixing. Doesn't need a lot of listens to get into, and random songs from this CD fit well into a a shuffle mix.

A strange brew of partners, but a wonderful volume of music featuring the incredible and mesmerizing vocals of Norah Jones, "...Featuring Norah Jones" is a true treat for all seasons.

The album begins with a smooth, soulful song "Love Me" from The Little Willies featuring Norah Jones... then moves into an alternative Indie-style "Virginia Moon" collaboration of Norah Jones and the Foo Fighters. The styles are certainly a stretch from the other, but somehow Norah's voice ties it all together in a pretty little musical bow.

Perhaps because it's "the" season, my favorite track is "Baby It's Cold Outside," a collaboration of Norah Jones and Willie Nelson, followed by "Dear John" by Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones.

Any fan of Norah Jones will appreciate "...Featuring Norah Jones," but any music lover will, too. It's a fabulous, relaxing album full of surprises and magical vocals.

The title of the album is "Featuring Norah Jones"...that pretty much gives it away that she's not going to be the main artist on ANY of the songs. She's a FEATURING artist on someone else's song. I'm not sure why a lot of people were surprised by that. I think it's pretty interesting to see artists cross genres and experiment with different kinds of music. It also exposes you to different artists you may have never come across otherwise *shrug*.