Norah Jones, Feels Like Home

After 2002’s phenomenal Come Away With Me, one might expect Norah Jones to be weighed down by the challenge of following up such a debut…especially with that load of Grammys! But Jones claims that was never a concern of hers, and she describes the new album rather as a “snapshot” of where she is in life now and how she has developed musically. Feels Like Home, then, feels like the logical next step. Accompanied by her core group and backed again by the award-winning talent of “Don’t Know Why” songwriter Jessie Harris, Norah stays true to her roots while rocking out—at least, as much as a Norah Jones can rock out—on a few more uptempo tunes. She duets with Dolly Parton on “Creepin’ In” and covers tracks by idols Tom Waits and Duke Ellington, for whose instrumental “Melancholia” she wrote original lyrics and retitled “Don’t Miss You At All.” You can bet Jones will be making headlines again this year and garnering accolades from those in high places. But don’t hold your breath for any kind of reunion with her dad, sitar master Ravi Shankar. Norah’s still rising on her own star.