Norah Jones – The Fall

Written by Fantasma el Rey

Norah Jones has thirteen new songs to offer on her latest release The Fall, which marks a change in direction for her and features a different sound as she works with a new cast of musicians. Norah plays more guitar on her fourth album and less piano, but fear not, her vocals remain as beautiful and sexy smooth as ever. One more change is that Miss Jones’ hair is now short, but again she remains stunning, which goes to show that new looks, sound, and musicians can’t take away from true brilliance.

“Chasing Pirates” opens with synth vamps, mellow bass and guitar, a steady drum snap, other percussion, and the Wurlitzer swirling in the background. The mix of instruments with Norah’s sublime vocals and lyrics has me reeling and lost instantly in the eerie, dreamlike darkness. The lyrics are great and illustrate how one text message can send the mind spinning: “In your message you said/ You were going to bed/ But I’m not done with the night/ So I stayed up and read/ But your words in my head/ Got me mixed up so I turned out the light/And don’t know how to slow it down/ My mind’s racing from chasing pirates.” The lyrics move on and there’s “an ambulance scream,” “impossible schemes,” and drowning insanity, back to mind racing, chasing pirates, a line which is delivered masterfully by Norah. There’s also the slightest Caribbean feel, like Blondie’s “The Tide Is High,” slowed to a crawl and buried in the sand so its barley audible.

“Even Though,” “Light As A Feather,” and “Young Blood” continue down the road of darkness set up by “Chasing Pirates.” The bass lines and drums remain a steady, driving factor and can be related to certain gothic, new wave sounds of the early- to mid-1980s. Norah’s lyrics shine and along with the music remain a bit heavy even as she has some writing help from Jesse Harris (“Even Though”), Ryan Adams (“Light As A Feather”), and Mike Martin (“Young Blood”). “Young Blood” contains great lyrics about gunning down werewolves, “Our fears are only what we tell them to be,” and “Young blood/Young bones/Old ghost,” not in that exact order but strung together well and in a way that makes them work wonders.

“I Wouldn’t Need You,” “Waiting,” “You’ve Ruined Me,” “Stuck,” and “Tell Yer Mama” break things up a bit. They have that country vibe Norah has displayed here and there on her past recordings. “Wouldn’t Need You” finds Norah’s piano work brought to the front and tells of how if she could do certain things on her own and feel a certain way on her own she “wouldn’t need you.”

“Waiting” finds her doing just that, wondering why and will she ever learn and will waiting at all ever get “you” to return. “Stuck” brings in some scratchy, heavy electric guitar and the play of the bass, piano, and string synth remind me, in a slight way, of the chorus to Lou Reed's “Satellite Of Love.” Call me "crazy," but I hear it.

“Tell Yer Mama” finds Jesse Harris and old friend Richard Julian helping with the songcraft on this mid-tempo country romp. The bass thumps out solid plunks as the drums pound an Indian bop hop beat. The clavinet provides an interesting sound twist to this tale of someone who just can’t see that the girl is waiting for him to come around.

“It’s Gonna Be” is the thunder-and-lighting track as its three minutes of heavy, rumble drums; thick bass grooves; mean guitar; and a “tuff” sounding Wurlitzer set the stage for Norah’s assertive vocals. She pushes you back telling how its gonna be: “Aim at the ones who’ve really hurt us/ They should be arrested for murders.”

“Back To Manhattan” and “December” are the jazzy/country tunes that could have been pulled from her previous recordings. “Manhattan” is a quiet piece about going back to something or someone you’d thought you could simply ride away from. “December” scales things back more as this one is only played with acoustic guitar, some light programming and synth, and of course Norah’s piano and sublime vocals.

“Man Of The Hour” is the album closer and finds Norah alone at the piano telling of her “man” of the hour: a dog. After listening to this witty little ditty, it makes you wonder and rethink the focus of some of the others songs' lyrics. Then there is the album cover with her in a furry-looking wedding gown with a top hat and a Saint Bernard at her feet while the CD insert has her in the same dress surrounded by dogs.

Norah Jones’ The Fall is mostly set to a different pace for her. Some fans may be a bit taken back at first, but Norah is the same talent overall and can still make you think and sing along with her poetry and wit set to wonderful music.

Cowboy Junkies: Trinity Revisited

Written by Fumo Verde

In 1988 the Cowboy Junkies released their second album Trinity Sessions and put the band’s name on the charts. The album was recorded in the Church of the Holy Trinity in the city of Toronto, Canada. The basic cost of making this album produced by Peter Moore was around $250, of which five dollars went to the church’s caretaker to let the band stay a little longer while they kept recording. Centered around a single microphone and using a mix of traditional folk songs along with ones written by Michael Timmins, Trinity Sessions became a hit.

So what is Trinity Revisited? It’s a film by Pierre & Francois Lamourex that celebrates the original album’s twentieth year by capturing the acoustics of the old church while adding some new sounds to those haunted songs. Brining the talents of Natalie Merchant, Ryan Adams, Vic Chesnutt, and longtime friend/part-time Junkie Jeff Bird, who can make the mandolin cry and the harmonica sing, the ensemble revitalizes the music and makes a completely different album from the one made two decades ago. The Lamourex Brothers along with the Junkies gathered together not only musical talent but film, sound, and lighting talent from all over to help shoot this.

My congratulations must go out to Pierre & Francois for the amazing crew that made this incredible film. All of this musical talent in one church blows up as new twists to the old tunes tell those familiar stories through different eyes. For those of you who only bought the first album for the cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” the band plays this “tune-up intro” where Michael Timmins and Ryan Adams do a little dueling on guitar as drummer Peter Timmins loosens up by checking all his skins and cymbals. Bassist Alan Anton tickles his Fender until a crescendo of noise peeks, then nothing, a lone voice calls out “2, 3,” then that familiar thumping starts. Ryan’s guitar takes this song into a different orbit as Michael’s strumming keeps the song on the right trajectory. Having Ryan sing a chorus and using Natalie on this track to back Margo gave the song new depth and a whole different feel that even Lou Reed would dig.

Natalie and Margo share choruses on “Misguided Angel” and the harmony these two women have is unbelievable. Margo has that low sultry, soulful tone while Natalie has an uplifting yet sorrowful Irish spirit. Put them together and I don’t have the college degree to find the words to describe the awesome sound these new twists put on such a beautiful song. Add Mr. Bird on the mandolin and you add a bluegrass twang.

Vic Chesnutt sounds like Dylan on a rendition of “So Lonesome I Could Cry” that would make Hank Williams proud. Along with Margo, who I think has the sexiest voice in music, these two contrast well against each other and give the song a stirring vibe.

“Working on a Building” has to be my favorite track out of them all. Everyone contributes; the lighting and camera work capturing the energy going through the church as this gospel traditional explodes as a rocking blues jam.

I am so impressed with the work the Cowboy Junkies and everyone else involved put into this film that I have to say that this will be one of the more memorable things I will get to review in 2008, and the year has just started. The music is great with all its new sounds and it really sets itself apart from the original album.

One of the greatest things about this DVD was the documentary on the making of Trinity Revisited. The band gives us some cool insights on what it was like for them back then and how they have grown since. We also get to see Natalie, Vic, and Ryan in a more intimate setting as they prepare to play songs that have had influence on them.

Trinity Revisited comes with the DVD and a CD so you can keep it jamming on those long road trips from California to Tennessee (it will be coming with me to Bonnaroo). The album encompasses folk, country, blues and bluegrass with a twinge of rock ‘n’ roll keeping the music alive and well. The Cowboy Junkies have always been on my top-ten list and Trinity Revisited will enshrine them there forever.