Falling all Over Again

SteveK on Norah Jones’ The Fall

Regular readers of this space know that I’ve been a fan of Norah Jones, since ‘Come Away With Me’ came out, back in 2002.  Her seductive, velvety voice, simple Piano Jazz and the smooth tunes she offered up made that album, and it’s 2004 follow-up ‘Feels Like Home’ utterly perfect, reviving my (and I daresay several other people’s) interest in Jazz.

Regular readers also know that I was thoroughly impressed (but a little disappointed with) 2007’s ‘Not Too Late’.  The album had some more heavily-themed songs that darkened the otherwise carefree and light-hearted romantic music of her previous releases.

I’m happy to report that Jones is back in frivolous form on ‘The Fall’.  The songs are generally light-hearted and romantic, and with only a couple of glaring examples, thoroughly enjoyable.  The subject matter of the song “You’ve Ruined Me” would have been more capably handled if she’d been a little more judicious when writing the lyrics.  Likewise, the last song on the album has the rather cliché theme of (SPOILER ALERT!) a woman’s ode to her pet dog being better than any man.  Break out the peanut butter and call it a day.

However, other than these occasional stumbles (which only stand out because someone as seasoned as Jones is the one to make them) ‘The Fall’ is a thoroughly enjoyable return-to-form from Norah Jones.

Norah Jones: The Fall

Blue Note, EMI

Steve’s Rating: 8.5/10