Nov 12, 2010

A STAR-STUDDED COLLECTION OF NORAH JONES’S MUSICAL COLLABORATIONS

On November 16, EMI’s Blue Note Records will release …Featuring, a star-studded collection of the
multi-platinum selling, multi-Grammy Award winning singer Norah Jones’s musical collaborations
from the past decade. The 18 songs on the album include duets with such legends as Ray Charles,
Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton, and with 21st Century icons from OutKast to the Foo Fighters.
“It's so exciting and flattering and fun when I get asked to sing with somebody that I admire,” says
Jones. “It takes you a little bit out of your comfort zone when you're doing something with another
artist. You don't know what to expect—it's kind of like being a little kid and having a playdate.”
The tracks on …Featuring span her entire career, from one of her earliest recording sessions (a
version of Roxy Music’s “More Than This” with guitarist Charlie Hunter in 2001) to her most recent
performance, a song called “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John” that she cut with Belle and
Sebastian, which will also appear on their new album. The result serves as a kind of parallel history
to her own four albums, which have sold over 40 million copies worldwide.
These collaborations reveal Jones’s astonishing musical versatility, from jazz to country, hip-hop to
rock. Three of the songs on …Featuring originally appeared on records that won Grammy awards for
Album of the Year (Ray Charles’ Genius Loves Company, Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters,
and OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below), and several others were also nominated for
Grammys.
The album also includes recordings by some of Jones’s own bands and side projects (The Little
Willies and El Madmo), and performances with artists that she’s toured with including M. Ward,
Sasha Dobson, and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Songs on …Featuring range from classics
recorded by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, and Roy Orbison to new material by such
wide-ranging innovators as Ryan Adams and Q-Tip.
“A lot of the people on this record are people I've worshiped since I was a kid, and some of them are
younger and more my contemporaries,” says Jones. “Even though the musicians are so varied, the
vibe of the songs makes sense when we put them all together.”
The track listing for …Featuring is as follows:
1. Love Me – The Little Willies
2. Virginia Moon – The Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3. Turn Them – Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4. Baby It's Cold Outside – Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5. Bull Rider – Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson
6. Ruler Of My Heart – Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7. The Best Part – El Madmo
8. Take Off Your Cool – OutKast featuring Norah Jones
9. Life Is Better – Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10. Soon The New Day – Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11. Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John – Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones
12. Here We Go Again – Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13. Loretta – Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14. Dear John – Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15. Creepin' In – Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton
16. Court & Spark – Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17. More Than This – Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18. Blue Bayou – Norah Jones featuring M. Ward
This is an awesome collection from Norah Jones. It is not your usual album of similar sounding songs. With duets with folks from Willie Nelson to OutKast, the album is filled with sounds for every taste. I am personally drawn to some of the songs that are pretty different from my usual sound such as the duet with Willie Nelson, Baby its Cold Outside or Blue Bayou with M. Ward. They just have such a cool feel to them. To me music creates a mood and can totally take you away. And I love all the different places this album takes the listener.

Disclaimer: I received this album courtesy of One2One Network as part of campaign.  All opinions expressed are my own personal, honest feedback.

1 comment:

  1. Funny name for a blog. I have 3 boys myself and no doubt it deserves its own blog. :0)

    ReplyDelete

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