Review: ... Featuring by Norah Jones

I love music. When I was getting ready for bunco, I turned on Pandora and boogied out, singing along while I cleaned the house and got all the food and drink ready for my guests. It never fails to amaze me how productive I can be when I am listening to some good music.

The new album from Norah Jones does just that for me, too. In fact, if I'd been thinking about it, I should have just put in her CD last Friday! ...Featuring isn't get up and dance music necessarily, but it's a fun compilation. The title comes from the fact that each of the eighteen songs on the album has another artist with Norah Jones.

Who knew you'd ever find Willie Nelson and the Foo Fighters and Outkast on the same album? It definitely makes for a different feel. As I was listening to it, I sometimes wondered who chose the various songs, as they are frequently quite ... different. "Soon The New Day" with Talib Kewli is much more of a rap style compared with the country-fied "Creepin' In" with Dolly Parton. At the same time, I actually liked the majority of the duets on the album.

The only song I really didn't like was "Baby It's Cold Outside" - which of course is a song I know well. It was much faster than how I'm used to hearing it, and to me it seemed like the message and play of the back and forth conversation of the song was lost.

"More Than This" featuring Charlie Hunter and "Blue Bayou" featuring M. Ward - ironincally the last two tracks on the album - fight for my favorite songs of the grouping. They are both so smooth and easy; I just get lost in them.

The rest of the album from "Virginia Moon" with the Foo Fighters to "Dear John" was enjoyable, though not all the songs were my favorites. I can see myself skipping a few if I were in the car and had the fast forward button easily available. Norah Jones sounds great on every song, but some of them just aren't my thing. That said, it's a pretty cool album!

While it is mellow and slow and jazzy for many of the songs - hey, it's what Norah Jones does! - it is still something that goes beyond the sitting in a bath with a glass of wine music. It's got enough oomph to it to keep me going and moving without just putting my to sleep, which was my initial worry when I first started listening to the album.

Who else could sing with all these artists:
1.Love Me – The Little Willies
2.Virginia Moon – The Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3.Turn Them – Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4.Baby It’s Cold Outside – Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5.Bull Rider – Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson
6.Ruler Of My Heart – Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7.The Best Part – El Madmo
8.Take Off Your Cool – OutKast featuring Norah Jones
9.Life Is Better – Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10.Soon The New Day – Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11.Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John – Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones
12.Here We Go Again – Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13.Loretta – Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14.Dear John – Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15.Creepin’ In – Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton
16.Court & Spark – Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17.More Than This – Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18.Blue Bayou – Norah Jones featuring M. Ward

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a copy of ...Featuring by Norah Jones for review purposes as part of a campaign by the One to One Network. I did not receive any compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own. By posting this, I am eligible to win one of five $50 gift cards.