A friend of mine told me that she listened to this album by candlelight. I was curious. Why light candles, lay back in the warm glow and the dancing shadows and remember and imagine love, and romance, what could have been, what is, and what could be? She gave me an album to listen to, and I lay back when the sun was going down. As the album finished, I had starlight for company. She was right. This is real mood music. Just right for thoughts and dreams about regret, sadness, frustration, love, beauty, moving on, candlelight, attraction, dreams, realisation, reticence, and perfect endings.
Norah Jones serves up a dish of exposed emotions in a feast of all that’s good about American music. We are treated to a melting pot of country, jazz, blues, American folk, and standards. The word 'eclectic' was designed for this album.
Norah's story starts at the University of North Texas, which lies right in the heart of cowboy country. She studied under the jazz programme at the University, and ate, drank, and dreamed jazz. Fate’s guiding hand wrote chapter one, when she was given the task of ferrying bass player Marc Johnson’s band from their hotel to a clinic that they were conducting. His guitar player Jesse Harris becam e a part of Norah’s band, and his guitar-playing, songs and lyrics are major ingredient in the album’s chemistry.
Chapter Two started when Norah moved away to New York, and started experimenting with other influences from her background. She added Country, Blues, and a little Latin spice to the mix. Then she added guitarist Adam Levy, the bass playing and the song-writing talents of Lee Alexander. Jesse Harris returns to the story, and hey presto.. we have magic! (and a record deal with jazz label Blue Note).
Norah’s jazz heritage is what makes this album so special. It is the life-force in every note on this album. Norah has a way with melodies that automatically turns them into harmonies. Whereas most singers would establish their prowess with vocal pyrotechnics, this lady finds the most beautiful note in the chord, and goes for it; the melodies drip like honey from her tongue. She creates a rainbow with one line, and re-arranges the colours with the next.
And, guitar player Adam Levy is her perfect complement. He plays solos with chords. Highlighting each note in turn, then leaving the rainbow to hang in the air, shimmering and dancing before you, fading and disappearing to somewhere you would like to be.
The first example of this heavenly liaison is Don’t Know Why. A song of bittersweet regret for a chance not taken. She contemplates what she’s missed, and what isn’t to come. It sets the tone of the a lbum. The song is a Jesse Harris showcase, which lies in the hinterland between country and jazz at a location called the blues.
Seven Years is a Lee Alexander song. A protest against a world that rejects laughter of the heart, a beautiful mind, and a graceful spirit. The protagonist is sowing her seeds on barren ground: a colourful character in a black and white world. But, she will never give up, and she will never surrender.
Norah goes back to her roots with Hank William’s Cold, Cold Heart. A song that is splashed with just a little bitterness. She’s frustrated, because she can see the possibilities in a relationship, but she can’t get past the hurt caused by someone else, frustrated by trying to working out how she can make everything alright, wondering about the things she didn’t do, blaming herself, and playing second fiddle to a memory.
Feeling The Same Way is a confession. The girl has that squishy, giddy, can’t believe it, butterflies in the stomach feeling again. The sun is knocking at the door and she’s ecstatic that it won’t go away. She can’t knock the feeling over no matter how hard she tries.
Next, we have one of the most beautiful lullabies ever written, Come Away With Me. Norah weaves the melody exquisitely. She adds extra notes to the chord that lead you gently by the hand, then take you soaring with her. ‘Come away where they can’t keep us apart with their lies’, she says. Come away to a place with no weeds, and no interference; a place where everything is OK. This is a song about wanting to be together, relax together, letting something inevitable grow very naturally.
Shoot The Moon is a song about letting go of a relationship that isn’t working. The honey-moon period is over, and oil and water won’t mix. Why should she be lonely with someone? She picks herself up to move on to try again.
Norah shows that she can sing the blues with the best of them on Turn Me On. What Miss Jones lacks in the range and power, she more that makes up for with her use of tone, phrasing, and interpretation. She conveys aching and longing, waiting for sweet release from a tension that makes her moan, an itchy greedy feeling that can only be satiated by making the kind of shadows that candlelight encourages.
With Lonestar, Norah sings a song of love, which she believes is unrequited. She contemplates imaginary distances, and love over the horizon; knowing how perfect the possibilities are, and casting a stone into the starlight that is already there. She sighs, and the guitar solo sighs with her.
I’ve Got To See You Again is another Jesse Harris song. A Latin rhythm suggests a closeness that is forbidden. Norah is drawn to a love that would raise eyebrows, and encourage frowns from people that just don’t understand. She walks away looking over her shoulder, smiling, daring herself to fight a world that can’t, and won’t, understand her passion. It’s a delicious feeling. Norah finds a temporary solution in Painter Song. A song about painting the perfect picture, stepping inside, and cuddling up. She has the power to make dreams come true with a brushstroke. Anything can happen.
On One Flight Down, it dawns on her. That small, whispering voice, which nags away, but can be barely heard finally speaks up. The realisation comes when the undercurrent of thought becomes a torrent, and intuition becomes knowledge. Everything makes sense. But, after realisation comes the lingering doubt of Nightingale. Norah’s voice flickers lik e a candle flame. She knows what she wants to say, she wants to ask the question, but her tongue gets tied, and she waits silently for the answer. The guitar solo shimmers. You feel that if you touch it, it will all disappear.
The Long Day Is Over gives a snug feeling. The embers will always be there, and the fire will never go out. Lay back in the knowledge that another day will come, and the sun will rise again. Even though she is tired and wary, she knows everything will come right.
Hoagy Carmichael makes all those dreams come true with The Nearness Of You. This is the perfect ending after the worry, the frustration, the longing, the waiting, and the mistaken rejection. Relax, and enjoy the prize. No hassle, no pressure. A song that leaves you feeling as warm as the soft candlelight.
Sometimes, stars and albums com e a long that inspire you, and remind you that there is real beauty in this world. Norah Jones knows that you can make real magic, and make magic real with candlelight, and starlight.
