The month of March has been filled with releases from female musicians as the world embraces Women’s History Month. This review of the latest from Norah Jones will kick off a string of reviews of albums by female artists – nine of the next ten albums in the lineup, with the pending review of the new Dragonforce being the sole exception. The last album in that string, from Beyonce, releases this coming Friday.
But first: Norah Jones. Her innuendo-laden debut album, Come Away With Me, launched her career pretty solidly, with “Don’t Know Why” garnering significant radio play back in the early aughts. The album’s title track also found some radio time, but I really never heard very much of her after that point, though her Jazz Fusion style sounded great and she was clearly an exceptional talent.
Thing is: at the time, I had no clue that that was her debut. And I was surprised, recently, to see that she was putting out a new album, and then more surprised to find that she’s only 44 years old.
I suppose I never thought to really seek out and explore her discography. Including Visions on my list of albums to review is a small step towards correcting that oversight.
So I approach my first listen of Visions with this in mind, and the intro track launches almost directly into vocals, with its titular phrase, “All This Time”. It’s mildly coincidental, and I can appreciate it. And the track is, otherwise, everything I was looking for when I added it to the radar – light piano-forward Jazz Fusion which finishes with birdsong. I mean, I didn’t specifically anticipate the birdsong, but it was a nice touch.
The rest of the album is still very firmly within the bounds of Jazz Fusion, but nailing down the “fusion” is less straightforward. I mean, starting with “All This Time”, the opening section of the album is very Jazz-forward with supporting elements from Pop and Folk, but then title track “Visions” serves as a turning point. It is the shortest and least impressive song on the album, and it includes Mariachi in the second half of the song – just, out of the blue: Mariachi brass.
After the incredibly sorrowful, downtrodden “Visions”, the album’s tone spikes sharply upwards, and many of the tracks in the album’s second half feel focused on “Jazz Fusion with the Fusion Being Indie Rock”. Or Folk Rock. It definitely leans more toward Rock in the second half, and really this is where you find the album’s best tracks, including the upbeat “Running” and the soulful “Swept Up In the Night”.
There are some solid songs on the album. My issue with it is that I’m not convinced that it knows what it is. It has no real cohesion in its execution. That said, it isn’t bad. Norah’s voice is as silky and sultry as it always has been, and there are some really wonderful, jazzy moments. It isn’t everything I hoped, but it’s good enough for about a 6.8.
Rating: Green