Day 0937 - Come Away With Me

Norah Jones “Come Away With Me” (2002) – got it 

 

Like many people I discovered Norah via the single “Don’t Know Why”.  I feel as though I heard it through an ad for her album.  Her dreamy, breathy voice, laid-back groove and beautiful melody hooked me in.

For some people it was TOO laid-back, with Norah being unfairly dubbed “Snorah Jones” by some  detractors.  While it’s true that her brand of jazz-pop-infused-with-folk lacks the pizazz of pop, and the teeth of the best jazz, there is some good songcraft and musicianship on display.  Definitely there are enough good jazz musicians involved (including John Zorn collaborators: Bill Frisell, Kenny Wolleson and Jesse Harris) to lend her some credibility amongst the genre’s purists.

It’s not as if this is a jazz aberration.  Jones taps into the light melodic jazz sounds of Bill Evans and Billie Holliday, adding in touches of country, folk and even tango (“I’ve got to see you again”).  The Hank Williams country classic “Cold Cold Heart” is given a sultry jazz reworking.  “Shoot the Moon” has a moody descending melodic pattern.

The album is an exercise in restraint, whether it’s the smouldering but understated sensuality of “I’ve Got To See You Again” and ”Turn Me On” (a nice bluesy number where Norah’s voice builds above a murmur to really get the passion across); or the sparse arrangements, which generally just consist of minimal drums, bass, a guitar and some piano with Norah’s breathy voice over top.  Sometimes she treats herself (and the listener) to a harmony or backing vocal.

Whether or not it’s jazz is in the ear of the beholder, but I like it, and it helped launch Norah’s career.   While she has experimented a little with her music she has largely continued to just move back and forth between the jazz and country idioms.

Day 0889 - Play

Moby "Play" (1999) - got it

Fun fact that I did not previously know: Moby chose his stage name because he's a descendant of Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick (at least according to Moby himself).

Moby did some DJing, played in alt-rock and hardcore bands and started to build up a reputation via his electronic music and remixes for other artists.   Then he put his musical foot in it by releasing a guitar-heavy, hard-core-style record called "Animal Rights".  the creative left-turn was not well received which left Moby mopey.  Following this setback, Moby convinced himself to carry on making music and produced Play. 

Initially not that successful, Moby and his team, as a last resort, licensed out all of the tracks for use in advertising and television which helped familiarise the public with the album.

Moby's approach is generally similar to that of Fatboy Slim, to take samples of older music (generally soul/blues/rock) and combine that with some beats and interesting arrangements to take the samples to new places.  Opener "Honey" more or less builds an entire song around one line from a Bessie Jones track.  Single "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" likewise uses a couple of lines of lyrics combined with piano, strings and a gospel choir to create something different from its constituent pieces.

The album was eventually huge, spawning 8 singles.   Probably one problem with it (even for those of us who like a bit of Moby) is that it is huge track-wise too.   There are 18 tracks, over an hour of music and it's a bit much for a single listen.   There are a couple of more straight-ahead electro tracks and I almost feel like he should have made it two albums or a double album, split into more sample-based pop tracks, and some more electronic/dancey tracks.

Day 0884 - The Man Who

Travis "The Man Who"

Listening to this album kind of confirms for me what I've always thought about Travis.   That some of their songs are good, but overall I'm probably never going to be a rabid fan or buy their albums.

Travis had released their slightly rockier debut "Good Feeling" to reasonable sales but not blistering success.  After a tour with Oasis, the band got together with Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich... I hate to say it, but you can tell.   The track "As You Are" has a Bends-esque quiet-to-loud guitar build-up, and singer Fran Healy's high voice hits some rasps over the big distorted chorus that instantly brings Thom Yorke to mind.

For the most part, the album is ballad-heavy.   there are a lot of acoustic and clean guitars with Healy's voice going for a more gentle tone.   It seems to be a similar Radiohead-lite vein mined by Coldplay a year or two later.   Melodic and inoffensive but not really earth-moving.   

The single "Why Does it Always Rain on Me" helped to launch the album commercially, and it ended up selling a ridiculous number of copies and making the band (at least briefly) one of the biggest around.

The album features (as was the style at the time) a hidden track at the end of the CD after a long stretch of silence.   It's quite foul mouthed and makes a nice departure from the overly tasteful, and radio-friendly fare of the album.

Day 0622 - Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman "Tracy Chapman" (1988)

Chapman was introduced to the media at the time when they were invited to a showcase by Natalie Merchant from 10,000 Maniacs.   Tracy also played at this showcase, and by all accounts, she impressed.   Once she had recorded this debut album, she was given a chance to play a concert for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday which further helped to get her music quickly out in the public eye/ear.

It's a pretty strong selection of songs.  To my tastes, it works best when the band/studio side of things is pared back, leaving the songs to rely more on Chapman's guitar and voice (or just her voice in the case of the effective acapella track "Behind the Wall").

The songs range from passionate folk and protests to more country sounds and just overall really good 'singer-songrwriter' stuff.