Feels Like Home [Enhanced]

However, anyone expecting to be wowed from the start stands to be disappointed. At face value it's Come Away with Me MkII, albeit a more countrified version without the instantly dreamy and delightful melodies of "Don't Know Why" and "Come Away with Me". Over the long haul though, it's a quietly brilliant leap forward that not only lives up to expectation, but far exceeds it.

With "Sunrise", "Those Sweet Words" and "Carnival Town" Jones ushers in more gentle sauntering and jazz-sweet reflection, but this time the understated dirt-track atmospheres don't just conjure pretty twilight moods; they convey a beauty and a powerful emotional cache that lingers. Likewise, "The Prettiest Thing" murmurs with tender sadness while the low-slung swagger of "In the Morning" broods with so much lip-curling passion it's almost seedy. However, the proof of just how far Jones has come lies in "Don't Miss You At All". A humbling end-of-the-affair lullaby built around the two-in-the-morning piano of Duke Ellington's instrumental "Melancholia", it's as moving as it is brave. --Dan Gennoe

'Feels Like Home' does not make me change my opinion. Strong melodies or moments of real beauty are few and far between. Norah's songwriting, with its cliqued images and rhymes, is just not very interesting. She needs material which plays against her tendency to slow everything down and relax to the point of dropping off to sleep. The occasional moments of drama, like the soulful groove of "In The Morning", all come when she is covering other people's songs.

It's understandable that so many should turn to Norah's music as a relief from the brutal beats and hysterical textures of modern pop. But this album is just too full of tasteful but pedestrian guitar work, dull electric pianos and plodding over-recorded drums. It's country soul with all the interesting bits smoothed away.

There are a couple of highpoints here. The duet with Dolly Parton, "Creepin In", is the best track on the album. Dolly sounds like she's having fun and the results are rather sweet. Nora has written some words to Duke Ellington's "Melancholia" and performs it solo - one of the few moments where some genuine emotion shows through, helped by someone else's interesting tune.

There's nothing wrong with quiet reflective music, but when you try and listen actively to Feels Like Home there's little to engage the ear. Which is a shame, as Nora's voice is rather lovely. I'm hoping in future she will take some risks and come up with something a bit more engaging. (Though no doubt millions will disagree with me!) --Nick Reynolds

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