Norah Jones "Not Too Late" disappointing

Soundbitten · « **Reply #20 on:** 3 Feb 2007, 01:18 pm »

Quote from: Rob Babcock on 3 Feb 2007, 05:40 am

I liked her first one a lot, but the 2nd one was a dud to me. Her best stuff if probably her stuff with Peter Malick, IMO. Haven't heard the new one but I'll probably check it out eventually.

I agree except that I think her 2nd wasn't a total dud and I won't be checking out the new one .

zane9 · « **Reply #21 on:** 3 Feb 2007, 02:32 pm »

Quote from: Imperial on 3 Feb 2007, 11:09 am

Imogen Heap was fantastic!!! I'm listening to her Myspace songs now... Wow!!!
Thanx man!!!

Imperial

I'm listening to her as well, right now. A huge talent! I have to watch Lion, Witch, Wardrobe again to hear her song in that movie.

samplesj · « **Reply #22 on:** 3 Feb 2007, 03:54 pm »

Ooops, I've got the new Jones on the way already. Oh, well maybe I'll like it anyway.

Quote from: zane9 on 3 Feb 2007, 02:32 pm

Quote from: Imperial on 3 Feb 2007, 11:09 am

Imogen Heap was fantastic!!! I'm listening to her Myspace songs now... Wow!!!
Thanx man!!!

Imperial

I'm listening to her as well, right now. A huge talent! I have to watch Lion, Witch, Wardrobe again to hear her song in that movie.

I found Heap through Frou Frou (her old band) via a song on the Shrek II soundtrack. I really like her voice, but my wife can't stand it. She thinks Heap uses too many vocal flourishes/tricks (sort of like the Cranberries singer).

zane9 · « **Reply #23 on:** 3 Feb 2007, 04:53 pm »

I just ordered Heap's Speak For Yourself, used, CAN$8.00 from The Beat Goes On. A small investment. Hope I like it

gitarretyp · « **Reply #24 on:** 3 Feb 2007, 05:39 pm »

If you get a chance, Imogen Heap puts on a pretty good show. One of the opening acts when i saw her was Kid Beyond, who's a phenomenal beat boxer. He also performed the percussion parts on a few of songs.

john1970 · « **Reply #25 on:** 3 Feb 2007, 11:32 pm »

Quote from: Rob Babcock on 3 Feb 2007, 05:40 am

I liked her first one a lot, but the 2nd one was a dud to me. Her best stuff if probably her stuff with Peter Malick, IMO. Haven't heard the new one but I'll probably check it out eventually.

Rob,

I have to agree with you on this one. Her singing on the 'New York City' with Peter Malick group was excellent. I purchased 'Not Too Late' and 'New York City' at the sametime. I have listened to NYC multiple times over the last few days, but only once to NTL. IMO both of her earlier records were very good (Come Away with Me and Feels Like Home). The lyrics on NTL are not as good.

gary · « **Reply #26 on:** 4 Feb 2007, 03:16 am »

I don't understand all the negativity. I just picked the cd up tonight and I'm about halfway through the first listen, it sounds pretty damn good to me...

gary

smccull · « **Reply #27 on:** 4 Feb 2007, 03:25 am »

I'm with you, Gary. My wife picked it up last night and we listened to it this morning. For what it is I find it very enjoyable. Norah is not Joni Mitchell or Van Morrison or Velvet Underground, and she doesn't try to be. She knows who she is and what her sound is and stays within herself, which I respect a lot. I'm tired of everyone trying to "reinvent themselves" ever other year. Haven't we seen enough versions of Madonna and Christine Aguilera yet?

In the first listen, mostly in the background, it sounded to me the equal, at least, of her first two outings. I liked the songwriting on the first but as an a'phile I prefered the natural sound of Feels Like Home better. Sounded more like a group playing together than an engineer piecing things together. This third one is sonically in the same vein as the second, and to me the songs didn't sound samey at all. Of course I need to listen to it a few more times but my first impressions are positive.

If you want groundbreaking, check out Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois". Blown away by this one last night. Read the background on it first though. Pretty interesting concept.

BobC · « **Reply #28 on:** 4 Feb 2007, 05:14 am »

I like it. Sounds good on my rig. Allows me to relax and my wife will even came down to curl up for a listen!

Sure it's not ground breaking, but so what. I don't like when artists constantly (or dramatically) reinvent themselves anyway...don't know what I'm getting that way.

jhm731 · « **Reply #29 on:** 4 Feb 2007, 05:57 am »

Nice sounding CD, but as a Jazz lover it's a bit disappointing.

IMO, her best recorded vocal is on Marian McPartland's 85 Candles CD.

On a different note, a friend just sent me Penny Lane & Friends Live.
Wish Norah would do a recording like this.

Thump553 · « **Reply #30 on:** 4 Feb 2007, 02:59 pm »

"Come Away With Me" was one of those rare and magical albums where everything gels just right. It was a classic album and I will enjoy it for years. Her follow-up album was pleasant enough but I'd be very hard pressed to remember even one song from it.

I was really looking forward to Little Willies, had even made arrangements to catch them live. This album was a total dud to me. I've played it twice-the second time a few days after the first to see if my initial impression was misguided.

I haven't heard her new album yet. If my library gets it (most likely) I'll give it a listen but my hopes aren't all that high.

Thank god there are plenty of other, lesser known singers around that are very enjoyable. They are probably old news to many posters here, but in the last four months or so I've personally discovered Cat Power and Eva Cassidy, and I'm in heaven with either one.

boead · « **Reply #31 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 05:37 pm »

I LOVE IT

mcgsxr · « **Reply #32 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:00 pm »

Love the first one, liked 1 track off the second one (What Am I to You?) and will likely pass on the 3rd...

fajimr · « **Reply #33 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:34 pm »

I'm in the camp with those who like the album...
I've been playing it over the weekend and really do enjoy it. I disagree with those who think it sounds like one long continuous song. After sitting down a couple of times and listening to it, then listening to it and reading the words (which takes me into the album more), and looking at the liner notes to see what she is playing (including guitar)... I have really come to appreciate it. This seems to be a bit more personal than the other two- not sure how biographical or playful it is but there is definitely some coherence. The recording is very good and her voice... well, that's enough to make me go out and buy her albums.

The problem with her, imho, is that her first album was such a revelation that she will be hard pressed to ever transcend it. It will always be the marker to which she will be compared. This album is not as good but is still good and worth a listen in my book. But my system shines with more acoustical music and vocals and I am a sucker for female vocals so therin lies my prejudices. In the meantime, I'll sit back and enjoy it.

my 0.02
jim

aerius · « **Reply #34 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:39 pm »

Listened to her 3rd album today at one of those listening station in HMV. It's not for me, or maybe I'm just getting sick of Norah Jones since everywhere I go, I hear Norah Jones, I go anywhere outside my home, it's there, bars, restaurants, banks, shopping malls, BestBuy, everywhere. It's almost as bad as Diana Krall.

Sonny · « **Reply #35 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:39 pm »

Quote from: fajimr on 7 Feb 2007, 06:34 pm

I'm in the camp with those who like the album...
I've been playing it over the weekend and really do enjoy it. I disagree with those who think it sounds like one long continuous song. After sitting down a couple of times and listening to it, then listening to it and reading the words (which takes me into the album more), and looking at the liner notes to see what she is playing (including guitar)... I have really come to appreciate it. This seems to be a bit more personal than the other two- not sure how biographical or playful it is but there is definitely some coherence. The recording is very good and her voice... well, that's enough to make me go out and buy her albums.

The problem with her, imho, is that her first album was such a revelation that she will be hard pressed to ever transcend it. It will always be the marker to which she will be compared. This album is not as good but is still good and worth a listen in my book. But my system shines with more acoustical music and vocals and I am a sucker for female vocals so therin lies my prejudices. In the meantime, I'll sit back and enjoy it.

my 0.02
jim

Jim, did you get those cds I sent? How are you enjoying them?

____

I wrote earlier in this thread that I too thought her new sound is great!! I think those that try to categorize her in Jazz is narrowing her genre. She really has no "real" genre...

Just listen and enjoy, if you can...

fajimr · « **Reply #36 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:41 pm »

Quote from: aerius on 7 Feb 2007, 06:39 pm

I hear Norah Jones, I go anywhere outside my home, it's there, bars, restaurants, banks, shopping malls, BestBuy, everywhere. It's almost as bad as Diana Krall.

maybe you are just frequenting the 'wrong' places

I never hear her in the cafes in montreal

but I certainly respect the fact that you don't care for her... you don't have to like everything I like

hiya sonny- no still waiting- customs sometimes takes a while. can't wait though!

jim

aerius · « **Reply #37 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:51 pm »

Quote from: fajimr on 7 Feb 2007, 06:41 pm

maybe you are just frequenting the 'wrong' places I never hear her in the cafes in montreal

It's a conspiracy, I think my local businesses are trying to drive me insane.

Quote

but I certainly respect the fact that you don't care for her... you don't have to like everything I like

I still like Norah Jones, though not nearly as much as before thanks to the constant exposure which has caused significant burn-out. After hearing her music all day, I don't really feel like popping her albums into my CD player when I get home. So my 2 Norah Jones CDs will probably sit in the back of my collection for a while longer.

PSP · « **Reply #38 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 06:54 pm »

I've listened to parts of NTL several times now, and I like it a lot.

I like Norah Jones, like her voice, like her playing and lyrics. It's authentic art, I think. This album has enough complexity and variety to keep me interested over the long haul. The sound is intimate (small group in the basement), although I hear a bit of echo... can't tell yet whether I'm hearing a slap echo from the recording venue or whether it might have been added later, by someone trying to "help".

I agree with Jim... Come Away with Me was so good, such a bolt from the blue that NJ may never surpass it. It seems to me that she's an authentic artist, following her own path with integrity and courage (vs. marketing and suit-driven sameness). A path like that is bound to be uneven; it's the price of integrity. I'm glad I bought NTL, very definitely.

Peter

Thebiker · « **Reply #39 on:** 7 Feb 2007, 07:07 pm »

While NTL is not my favorite from Norah Jones, I have to give her a lot of respect for having the courage to write & arrange new, original material. Most artists either do only stuff from the successful well-known songwriters and composers. Or they drop back and do covers.....a major pet peeve of mine.

Considering that this is only her third effort and she is still quite young, I look forward to what maturity may bring her.