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8 Time Grammy Award Winner? For Real?

I'm sure everyone out there is sick and tired of my whining. But, I (once again) feel the need to vent.

Today, (Sunday, May 25th) which happened to be a damp, drizzly day in Connecticut, Lisa (my better half) and myself, strolled into FYE in the Danbury Fair Mall. She went her way to DVD movies, and I went mine into "Pop/Rock" CDs. After about 15 minutes or so, Lisa found me at the register with a copy of Norah Jones, "Come Away With Me". As we stood in line, she looked at the CD cover and we discussed my new CD purchase. She noticed that of the 14 songs contained on the CD, only 2 were written by Norah. One song (#13) was a collaborative effort.

We further discussed the fact that many of the best artists use non-original material. But, Lisa did make an intersting comment; "Hmmm, she said. I'm surprised that someone awarded Best New Artist would only have 2 original songs". Again, an interesting observation.

Well, I didn't let that take the wind out of my sails. I just continued looking at that little blue sticker on the front of the CD case stating "8 Time Grammy Award Winner", " Album Of The Year", "Best New Artist", "Song Of The Year". I had never heard the complete album, but I figured, it's gotta be halfway decent.

Upon arriving home I put the CD through my usual ritual (Wash, Cut, Polish and Demagnetize), placed the CD In the Audiomeca and sat back to listen to this exciting new "Grammy" performance.

You're kidding, right? This is it?

O.K.,O.K. Kinda cool voice with a sandy kind of texture, (although, she sounds like she was recorded using a plastic microphone), average piano playing skills (although, on cut #1 the piano sounds like it's under water), and on cut #9, she had an almost Ricki Lee Jones "kind of" quality. Overall, not a bad recording, but I wouldn't put it high on the "sonics" list.

So, this is "today's" Grammy material Huh?

I'm certainly glad I'm not a postal worker skilled in firing automatic weapons, cause I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Has anyone found this "Grammy Award Winner" worthy of it's status?

My opinion? I'd have to concur with the title of the first song,"Don't Know Why".


buscis2

Showing 1 response by cpdunn99

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cpdunn99
639 posts
 
Joining the fray a little late here, but here goes anyway:

Norah Jones is OK, but that's about it (IMO). I like jazz, jazz vocals, and rather "spare" music. In that sense, NJ is fine (small band, can hear what's going on, etc.). And I think that her music (whether calculated or not or her part) is getting back to some "roots," much as did the soundtrack for "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?"

I think she became popular with the Grammy crowd (and the general public) because her music is safe, unobjectionable, clean, etc.

The recording quality, however, does leave something to be desired. There is a web site devoted to picking apart the recording quality (can't remember the URL, but it was referred to on the asylum).

Interesting that comparisons with Joni Mitchell and others have come up. There is no comparison. JM is miles ahead, but as NJ matures, she might really blossom. Considering her parentage, that will not be a surprise.

I'd rather listen to Tierney Sutton, Patricia Barber, or Dave's True Story.

Norah's next album will have a cover of Dylan's "I'll be Your Baby Tonight." Her rendition, like most of her current CD, is pretty laid back, without any real fire or spark.
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