REVIEWED BY CHUCK ARNOLD
Before she became a Grammy goddess, Norah Jones was working the New York club scene just like many undiscovered musical talents who don't go the cheesy American Idol route. With her side project the Little Willies (named after their beloved Willie Nelson), Jones shows that she hasn't forgotten where she came from. In fact, the quintet, featuring Jones on piano and vocals, is a bar band born out of gigs at the Living Room in Manhattan's Lower East Side. And you can practically smell the stale beer on the floor listening to this countrified collection. Lovingly rendered covers pay homage to everyone from the group's namesake to Kris Kristofferson and Hank Williams. Also capturing the loose live spirit of the Little Willies are dusty originals such as "Lou Reed," a slightly inebriated-sounding duet between Jones and guitarist-vocalist Richard Julian.
As Jones takes a break from her solo career, Julian is forging his own with his major-label debut, Slow New York. Although he gets a little help from Jones, who coproduced four cuts and sings backup on three, Julian stands out on his own thanks to his appealing, unassuming acoustic pop colored with shades of folk, country, blues and jazz. His secret weapon, though, are lyrics that go from self-deprecatingly witty ("I should have warned you, when you wake up with me/ My kinky hair looks like a Joshua tree," on "Damn") to sweetly wistful ("I want your flu, baby, not just your cough," on "Don't Wait Up").
The Little Willies: [
Slow New York: [
Rabbit Fur Coat
CRITIC'S CHOICE
ALT-COUNTRY
Having been an indie darling as frontwoman of Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis steps out on her own with a little help from some gospel-singing sisters. Her solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat, is an alluring alt-country disc wrapped in warm-and-fuzzy sentiments and more southern charm than you would expect any L.A. hipster to have. The disc kicks off with the old-time gospel "Run Devil Run," with Chandra and Leigh Watson providing a cappella harmony as rich as a Mississippi mud pie. The spirit of Sunday mornings of yesteryear also pervades such tunes as the plaintive "Born Secular." Lewis's heavenly voice—which at times channels Laura Nyro—is deceptively soulful on songs such as "Melt Your Heart," an achingly beautiful ballad on which she sings, "When you're kissing someone who's too much like you/ It's like kissing on a mirror/ When you're sleeping with someone who doesn't get you/ You're gonna hate yourself in the morning." Preach on, Jenny.
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DOWNLOAD THIS: "Melt Your Heart"
What's Going On? Songs of Marvin Gaye
REVIEWED BY V.R. PETERSON
JAZZ-POP
Naming this canny tribute after Marvin Gaye's classic 1971 album, Jason Miles—synthesizer guru to the likes of Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston—takes on some of the best-known tunes from the R&B lion's two-decade career, from the title track to "Let's Get It On," with arrangements that are at once fresh and familiar. Here, the overt heat of 1976's "I Want You" slows to a smoldering, Brazilian-tinged groove, while Gaye's 1982 comeback hit "Sexual Healing" gets an accentuated reggae bounce. On a disc that delivers both nostalgia and nuance, Gaye's jazzy mix of soul and social awareness still resonates 22 years after his death.
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DOWNLOAD THIS: "Sexual Healing"
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>Rosanne Cash, Black Cadillac In this moving meditation on death and grief following the loss of her father, mother and stepmother, Cash touches the wounded heart of anyone who has mourned a loved one.
Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Britain's Next Great Things live up to the hype with an indie-rock debut showcasing their rambunctious energy, killer rhythm section and machete-sharp lyrics.
Cat Power, The Greatest Trading in the lo-fi folk-rock of her previous work for a '70s soul vibe, the singer-songwriter delivers an emotional knockout worthy of Muhammad Ali in his prime.
Sarah Harmer, I'm a Mountain Canada's Harmer celebrates her love for the land with a down-home rootsiness on these winsome country, bluegrass and folk tunes, including the luminous first single "I Am Aglow."
>SOUNDS OFF
The 28-year-old Hannah, S.C., native is wooing fans with his deep voice and country sounds on his second CD, Your Man, featuring the hit title track.
ON HIS SOUND I've coined this phrase, "South Carolina Low Country," that describes my music. There's a region of my home state called the Low Country. Obviously I have a low voice and I sing country music. It has that down-home, backwoods, rural feel.
ON WORKING WITH HIS WIFE Jennifer travels with me on the road, playing piano and singing background vocals. I always have somebody to lean on and talk to about the business.
ON MEETING JOHNNY CASH I was a student at Belmont University and had been reading his autobiography. I thought, "If he dies and I don't get to meet him, I will be so disappointed." I took it upon myself to find out where he lived and go there. When I got there, the gate was open. I went up to the door and knocked. The door swings open wide, and there stands Johnny Cash. I took a step back and said, "My name is Josh Turner." I told him my heart was about to beat out of my chest, and he laughed and said, "We're all human."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
