Bad Review: Norah Jones
NORAH JONES DESTINED FOR LONGEVITY;GRAMMY WINNER'S APPEAL CROSSES BORDERS San Jose Mercury News (California) August 4, 2003 Monday MORNING FINAL EDITION
Copyright 2003 San Jose Mercury News
All Rights Reserved
San Jose Mercury News (California)
August 4, 2003 Monday MORNING FINAL EDITION
SECTION: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. 1C
LENGTH: 724 words
HEADLINE: NORAH JONES DESTINED FOR LONGEVITY;
GRAMMY WINNER'S APPEAL CROSSES BORDERS
BYLINE: MARIAN LIU, Mercury News
BODY:
Grammy's it girl has evolved into the girl in music.
Norah Jones showed fans she's here to stay Saturday night at Berkeley's Greek Theatre in a concert awash with country, rock, bluegrass and soul.
At 24, she has grown up gracefully, without resorting to any near-naked butt swaggering, tabloid episodes or horrific magazine pull-outs.
Unlike many other female stars her age, she appeared fully clothed in a loose flowing beige blouse, black slacks and black heels, appropriate for the all-ages sold-out show.
Looking more like a concert pianist than a pop phenomenon, she drifted easily from nightclub songs to a Saddle Rack soundtrack, from "Come Away With Me" to a duet with her opener, Richard Julian, on John Prine's "That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round."
She blazed through her debut album's songs to sing covers of all kinds. Instead of making her 1 1/2-hour concert into a makeshift karaoke session, she owned those covers of musicians from AC/DC, Hank Williams, Duke Ellington and Gram Parsons.
Her newest songs further displayed her flexibility. "Sunrise" was a beautiful testament to waking up on a lazy Saturday morning, the sun's rays coming through the window as you lie stretched out like a cat, purring. "Creepin' In" by bassist Lee Alexander transformed the nightclub scene into a hoedown, and other songs written by drummer Andy Borger showed a harder, more experimental rock side.
Her diverse sound and taste culminated into a wonderful set that included AC/DC's "Ride On" and a beautiful duet with vocalist Daru Oda on Gram Parsons' "Sleepless Nights."
But it was her voice that was her signature. Jones' voice was as romantic as the black ringlets of hair that fell down her back. And her sentimentality was right on: innocent yet worldly, with an ability to sing of love with the enthusiasm of a 16-year-old's crush and the wisdom of her grandmother. She easily glided from cooing a love song to exclaiming a giggly "Dude" in between songs.
Her voice could creep into your soul to remind you of everything you miss and love. It was this tone of nostalgia that helped earn her eight Grammy awards, her ability to look back and let fans smile through tears in a post-Sept. 11 world where emotions are numbed.
Jones' beauty not only lay in her voice but also in her ability to share the spotlight. Her musicians, notably guitarists Adam Levy and Kevin Breit, were amazing. Breit brought the mandolin to new heights in arrangements soperfectly put together, they fit like pieces of a puzzle. Jones also made sure to point out that her drummer Andy Borger graduated from the University of California-Berkeley.
Jones, who was born in New York and raised in Texas, is the daughter of New York concert producer Sue Jones and legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar. She surprised everyone in February by winning five individual Grammys plus three for her producers and songwriter for her debut album, "Come Away With Me," including the top four: album of the year, song of the year, record of the year and best new artist.
"Come Away With Me" sold more than 14 million copies worldwide, and still reigns on the Top 10 in the United States with an appeal that crosses all boundaries. Saturday night brought people of all ages and colors, sporting mullets, hippie hair, dreads and spikes. These were people who probably would never have spoken to one another in high school.
Compared with other female artists who also play the piano, such as Vanessa Carlton and Alicia Keyes, Jones will survive past the debut album.
Unlike Carlton, whose latest hit is a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" with the Counting Crows, Jones does not aim for the pop world.
But, like Keyes, Jones seemed to come out of nowhere with incredible soul. Keyes, however, strayed to hip-hop and R&B, with tight-fitting clothes to match, in order to seek out a younger audience.
With her old soul sound, Jones found an older path. With influences ranging from Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday to Otis Redding, she was among the youngest playing television tributes to Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson.
If Jones keeps at this vein, she will grace the all-time favorites of music lovers of all ages, becoming the worthy idol and role model Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Lopez so aptly missed out on.
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