Norah Jones is a beguiling artist at her best. A lovely singer, a talented piano and guitar player, and a skilled songwriter, she has crafted some of the best jazz, jazz-pop and pop of the last twenty years. But not everything is equal to her best work, and her records have vacillated from greatness to downright disappointing. Her best records, like the debut Come Away With Me, have been followed by lesser product. Both Feels Like Home and Not Too Late, while certainly not bad records, couldn't touch the debut. Then The Fall was a revelation, with her moving to guitar on some songs and with a production that took some of the sleepy out of her songs. That was followed by the mismatch with Danger Mouse on Little Broken Hearts, which showed that there was a way to make a less than great Norah Jones record without making it boring. Then 2016's "return" to jazz, Day Breaks, was a monumental work, proving she had the goods still, and that maybe the pool of her talents was deeper than we knew. Last year's Begin Again was a collection of writing collaborations that sounded less cohesive than her better efforts. Which brings us to Pick Me Up Off The Floor.
Jones has always specialized in soft, gentle compositions. Some of her work is a bit too sleepy sometimes, but there are generally a few songs that pick things up a bit. Not so much this time around. This one starts off slow, never speeds up, and then peters out all together. Not that tempos ruin the record, but don't come looking for much in the energy category.
How I Weep, softly, minimally played on piano and strings, sets the tone. Flame Twin has a nice organ part and interesting lyric. Background singers and Pete Remm's Hammond B3 keep Hurts To Be Alone interesting. Heartbroken, Day After is a slow sad breakup song. It is a good one, but four songs in and barely a rhythm in sight. Say No More has a nice rhythm and some melody, and you might think it's the beginning of getting this work moving. But not so much really. The chorus of Norah's vocals shines on This Life, with its appropriate lyric for the pandemic we are living through.
Side Two has to pick things up, right? To Live is a beautiful song, urging the singer to live in the now, again with lovely harmonies she sings herself. A collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, I'm Alive, is next, and it is good. The lyrics seem to focus on pandemic-me too-politics, and the tempo is at least moving forward. Tweedy's guitars are a nice change of pace. Then it's over. Were You Watching? (a too long, too sad dirge), Stumble On My Way (just slow), and Heaven Above (beautiful, and oh yeah, slow) try to out-slow each other, and they all win.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Jones' work has never been exactly upbeat, but this is just too far down the lack of tempo road. It is a beautiful record, full of sad, melancholy songs perhaps best described as art songs. It is well-written and performed. The musicians (usually just piano, bass and drums with one or two helpers along for the ride) do a fine job. As theme music for our current state of pandemic depression, it might be perfect.
Maybe I'm being too critical. Several of these songs are strikingly beautiful. Jones' voice is lovely. Lyrics are mostly strong. There isn't a note out of place. Shouldn't that be enough?
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