Review: Not Too Late - Norah Jones

Its hard to believe that its been five years since Norah Jones burst onto the national scene with her sultry blend of piano-driven jazz and blues, renewing the faith of audiophiles everywhere in the future of popular music. Over the course of those few years, Jones has garnered nine Grammy wins and a boom of commercial and critical success. She's been relatively quiet since the release of her second album, Feels Like Home, save for some guest collaborations and an enjoyable vanity project and album, The Little Willies. Jones is now poised to serve up her newest collection of music and thankfully, it's Not Too Late.

Not Too Late finds the artist clearly showcasing the influences she's encountered the past couple years, specifically those within the country realm. Her voice is still honey and made to sing the jazz that she so dearly loves but also lends itself well to a well-crafted country tune. That country influence is prevalent on songs such as "Until the End," "Broken," and "Wake Me Up." In fact, a few of the tunes may find themselves drawing comparisons to Willie Nelson's work on albums such as Stardust and What a Wonderful World. The remaining tracks run the gamut from jazz ("Not Too Late"), pop ("Not My Friend"), and a dash of New Orleans flavor ("Sinkin' Soon"). No matter what she sings, Jones' voice offers up a feeling of timelessness, allowing her music to transcend genres and generations. If asked to levy any complaint here, truly the only one may be that the tempo of these tracks doesn't vary much, allowing some songs to blend together. However, gifted vocals and solid production do go a long way to assuage this complaint.