Norah Jones – The Fall (200G Vinyl LP)

Part of Blue Note/Analogue Productions’ Jones Reissue Campaign

Norah Jones went in new directions on her fourth full-length, 2009’s The Fall, experimenting with different sounds and a new set of collaborators, including Jacquire King, a noted producer and engineer who had worked with Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, and Modest Mouse, among others. During the 13-song set, Jones ditches the gentle piano playing of her preceding affairs and tears into fresh, beat-savvy arrangements, playing plenty of electric guitar and exploring the piercing quality of the Wurlitzer electric piano. 

Jones’ smoky voice and soulful veneer highlight the opening track and first single, “Chasing Pirates” while a slinky kind of ambience is dislplayed on “Light As a Feather” (co-written with Ryan Adams). The social commentary of “It’s Gonna Be” offers a garage-rock attitude, and “You’ve Ruined Me” claims a rich Americana flavor. But Jones is still a little bit country (“Tell Yer Mama”) and a little bit rock ’n’ roll (“Stuck”).

On The Fall, Jones enlisted several songwriting collaborators, including Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, as well as her frequent partners Jesse Harris and Richard Julian. Musicians include drummers Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) and James Gadson (Bill Withers), keyboardist James Poyser (Erykah Badu, Al Green) and guitarists Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) and Smokey Hormel (Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer).