For The Good Times [CD]

After a gap of six years since the first Little Willies album they are back for more straight ahead country covers and one original instrumental. The sound and playing is again excellent and Norah Jones' voice is in good form - both on her usual mid-tempo ballads such as "Remember Me" and also on the faster numbers like Loretta Lynn's "Fist City". There is a nice restrained version of Dolly Parton's much-covered "Jolene" and even the novelty number "Foul owl on the prowl" by Boomer and Travis (as featured in the film 'In the heat of the night') comes out sounding very good and giving guitarist Jim Campilongo a chance to play a nice solo.

I found many of the album's other songs a bit average, I'm sure that the band really enjoy doing well-known country songs like Willie Nelson's "For the good times" but I'd prefer to hear things with a bit more of a twist. For me I tend to loose interest when Norah isn't singing lead and I'm not really convinced that her and Richard Julian singing together works. For example the tune of Hank Williams' classic "Lovesick Blues" gets lost in tricky harmonies and super-slick guitar runs. I'm afraid that all-in-all I did prefer the first album which had a more interesting collection of songs and more variety of sounds and styles.

Excellent music, but packaging is woeful. No notes at all about the songs or their composers except in minute difficult to read on the rear of the CD holder. I know some of the songs and where they originated but not all of them. This has been a serious problem since the demise of Vinyl, very limited information on many CD's. I also purchased Leonard Cohens' Old Timers, excellent sleeve notes in a booklet with complete lyrics, recording information etc. The way it should be done.

Last year's release Featuring Norah Jones confirmed that she is a most versatile performer, very much at ease with a variety of musical styles and in particular with country music. She performed duets with Dolly Parton, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch and Willie Nelson after whom, it is said, The Little Willies are named.

She had already shown that she was an accomplished country artist with the Little Willies debut album in 2006, her collaboration with four other New York based musicians. Now, six years later, they are back with another collection of eleven country covers and an original instrumental by guitarist Jim Campilongo.

While not as immediately appealing as the debut album there are solid performances of some fine songs. In particular, Norah's bluesy and heartfelt reading of Scotty Wiseman's beautiful ballad, "Remember Me" with its spare piano accompaniment, is worthy of special mention.

She doesn't disappoint either with Kris Kristofferson's evocative "For The Good Times" as she squeezes every ounce of emotion from the lyrics. Meanwhile Richard Julian contributes lump in the throat vocals to a fine reading of the Willie Nelson penned "Permanently Lonely" and a spirited performance of the Johnny Cash number "Wide Open Road".

The Hank Williams signature song, "Lovesick Blues" is performed impeccably with Jones and Julian combining beautifully against a sparse acoustic background. The album finishes with Norah singing a slow but inspired version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" with Campilongo's gentle guitar ushering in the end of the piece. Simply gorgeous.

I'm not sure about the Willies version of Ralph Stanley's "I Worship You" or the Campilongo instrumental "Tommy Rockwood". I think, too, that Norah's smoky, blues infused voice is better suited to emotive country ballads rather than the rollicking sounds of Loretta Lynn's "Fist City" or Lefty Frizzel's "If You've Got The Money" but that is a minor quibble. What is undeniable is the artistry and enthusiasm of the group and the obvious enjoyment that the members derive from playing and singing together.