Come Away with Me

Norah Jones

album cover

An Anti-Diva Debut

To fully appreciate the revolution that was Norah Jones, consider the moment she made her entrance. It was the spring of 2002, and the women ruling the pop charts—Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, et al.—were getting over by selling a laddiemag ideal of sex appeal. With a few exceptions, these shrill sirens weren't singers so much as huge marketing operations, outfitted with songs designed to extend the "brand." The music didn't have to be killer, just danceable and suggestive in a skanky "leave nothing to the imagination" way.

Come Away with Me is a whole different kind of comeon. Jones, the out-of-wedlock daughter of Indian music master Ravi Shankar, snuck in all catlike, and her quietude suggested a way of orienting oneself to the world that was far different from the pop diva approach. Tone mattered: Where just about everything pushed by major labels at the time had the subtlety of a sledgehammer, Jones made music with soft edges, and a breezy, open-window wistfulness. The folks at her label had modest expectations; the record, which blends earthy country and torch-song sophistication, seemed destined for a place in the back of the store near "Easy Listening."

What happened next was the rare triumph of quality over celebrity skin. Word spread quickly. When you walked into a boutique and this was playing (and for a while it seemed like it was always playing), the sweetly sad, almost listless songs invited you to linger, the antithesis of a high-pressure sell. Through these unassuming songs, many written by Jesse Harris, Jones positioned herself as an alternative to the prevailing ethos of pop-music hype, even refusing to appear in music videos. The public was hungry for an artist like this: Her album, which won eight Grammy awards, sold nearly ten million copies in its first year.

Come Away (and its equally sublime follow-up Feels like Home) both depend on a littleappreciated secret weapon: Jones's instantly identifiable pianistic touch. In much the way Ahmad Jamal does, she conjures an aura of contemplative calm with just a handful of carefully massaged notes. These invite listeners into a kind of refuge. By paying such close attention to the instrumental atmospheres of her songs, Jones creates ideal conditions for her husky and fascinatingly complex voice. All she has to do is whisper and it's devastating.

Genre: Vocals
Released: 2002, Blue Note
Key Tracks: "Don't Know Why," "Come Away with Me," "Feelin' the Same Way"
Catalog Choice: Feels like Home
Next Stop: Nina Simone: Four Women
Book Page: 409

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