Artist: Leonard Cohen
     Album: The Future
     Label: Columbia Records
     Year: 1992; release: 2011
     Quality: FLAC
     Size: 368 mb

     As with most every Leonard Cohen album, a new record means a new means of musical exploration. With The Future, Cohen adds chiming synthesizers and eerie orchestrations to his brooding anthems about life's darker half. One of the last of Cohen's full-length albums, The Future is definitely one of the most direct. More notable tracks include "The Future" and "Waiting for the Miracle," both of which were featured on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. Closer to spoken word poetry set to music than simply songs, the entire album is one long manifesto calling all to challenge the concepts of righteousness and despair in our modern world. Regardless of the music behind the man, Cohen still manages to bring to The Future what he brought to his earlier recordings: one man against the world with nothing but a gruff voice and a cause. ~ Christopher Fielder, All Music Guide

     Artist: Bob Leaper Big Band
     Album: Big Band Beatle Songs [Remastered Edition]
     Label: Vocalion Phase 4 Stereo Spectacular
     Year: 1964; release: 2005
     Genre: Big Band Jazz
     Format, bitrate: MP3 320kbs 85 MB / Flac
     Artwork: Full Scans (600 dpi) 8 MB
     Total File Size: 93 MB / 185.67 MB


     Bob Leaper, who has disappeared from the scene, went into the studio on two occasions, one occasion armed with his interpretations of music made popular by Petula Clarke and this fabulous album. The first album is long lost to the public being held in an archive (PYE) and the rights seemingly unobtainable at the moment; the other has been available for a while from Dutton Vocalion but somehow is ignored by collectors.
     The album was originally a Phase4Stereo Spectacular multi-channel extravaganza made to compliment the growing popularity of stereo recordings. Having said that this is not a gimmicky journey through a percussion session, ping ping stereo it is not. This is a JAZZ album!!!!
     This is a top London session band, Kenny Clare on Drums; Ronnie Scott on tenor for example. No-one has extracted more music from Beatles songs, no arranger could improve on Leaper's interpretation; listen to the soloists who revel in the exciting opportunities Leaper's imagination presents. This is a gem of a recording.

     Artist: Jim Black's AlasNoAxis
     Album: Splay
     Label: Winter & Winter
     Year: 2002
     Format, bitrate: FLAC / mp3, 320
     Size: 365 / 137 mb
     AMG Rating:




     The sophomore solo outing by drummer extraordinaire Jim Black and his Alasnoaxis band (Chris Speed on reeds and winds, Hilmar Jensson on guitars, Skuli Sverrisson on bass, everybody on effects) takes the more rock-oriented elements from his debut and explores them to heavily distorted yet wildly lyrical ends. This is music with its power-chorded rock riffs worn loudly and proudly, pushing the needle into the red on virtually every tune, while exploring the notions of overt yet complex lyricism and song forms. The drum mix is wonderfully muddy and it pulses every movement by Speed, who carries the role of "singer" here and gives him room in the squall of strings to hover, float, wind, and croon through the maelstrom -- check the glorious "Aloe Evra," with its transcendent contrapuntal lyric line juxtaposed against the distortion boxes and pedals of Jensson's six string. For the sake of dynamic, "Icratic" is a little more overtly jazz in its construction, with a series of flatted sevenths offering a palette for Sverrisson's bass to offer a bottom rife for exploration. The tune plods, unboxing itself slowly until the halfway point, when it becomes a free-for-all improvisation with careful attention to textured atmospherics. "Cheepa vs. Cheep" is right back into rockistry, with melodica's clarinets and saxophones playing seductively against the wall, such as on "Mydir Now," where the band tracks Black's percussive heavy meandering into all sorts of darkened corners, and fill them with the light of intimate communication and truly canny articulation. This is a solid, humorous, and delightful recording by a guy who is really just getting started as a composer. It should also be noted that the sleeve by Japanese comic artist Yoshitomo Nara is as beautiful as the music.

     Artist: Jim Black
     Album: AlasNoAxis
     Label: Winter & Winter
     Year: 2000
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Size: 159 mb
     AMG Rating:


     In live performance, N.Y.C. drummer Jim Black can't help but grab a lion's share of the audience attention from his bandmates. Even in ensembles led by such stellar players as Dave Douglas, Tim Berne, Ellery Eskelin, and Chris Speed, his percussive pyrotechnics are simply riveting, and one wonders whether those bandleaders have noticed the many instances when everyone's eyes are locked on the guy back there thrashing away on the skins and adding coloristic flourishes with a host of oddball paraphernalia. Fans of post-bop are among those who sit up straight and take notice; yes, he has caused even trad jazz jaws to drop. Black now has his first CD out on the estimable Winter & Winter label, and he's pulled a bit of a fast one on the jazz crowd -- this skews away from being a jazz record, even an avant jazz record, much of the time. Black sometimes tips his hi-hat to the type of music his jazz-focused fans might expect; there may be some modern creative experimentation as practiced by Berne or Eskelin, but the avant Balkan jazz of Tiny Bell Trio or the Mediterranean-influenced groovefest of Pachora is not much in evidence at all. This is closer to Black's work with Chris Speed's yeah NO or the Human Feel collective, but even rockier, or at least post-rockier, than either of those. And, whether intentionally or not, Alasnoaxis even draws a bit from the annals of prog and art rock, with Icelandic electric guitarist Hilmar Jensson throwing a few Robert Fripp and David Torn influences into the mix now and again (certainly taking this group farther from the territory where one would find Brad Shepik). Wisely, Black seems to understand that an album such as this can't rely on his percussive skills alone; the kinetic excitement of his live performances won't transfer 100 percent to the CD format, so composing and arranging skills will have to come into play. And come into play they do. Black has fashioned a set of 15 mainly short pieces, some even structured like instrumental indie rock tunes. There are explosive, distorted power chords from Jensson, and ominous underlying textures are employed as undercurrents to the conventionally structured pieces as well as stand-alone ambient-flavored tracks, giving the proceedings a sense of both melancholy and unease. While saxophonist and clarinetist Speed (a partner to Black on many projects) has plenty of wild and forceful moments here, Black has also placed him in settings that tend to bring out a plaintive and fragile quality in his tone, creating a striking contrast when the reedman faces off against the deep growling beast of Jensson's guitar. Skuli Sverrisson, like Jensson a native of Iceland, anchors the goings-on with deep basslines that settle in and move the band along or -- in the case of the impressive, loping "Optical" -- thrust against the music's prevailing currents. Of course, it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly where the current is in "Optical," as all four bandmembers seemingly occupy different universes (with Jensson exploring Frippertronics-like sound washes) that only intersect at the piece's conclusion. In "Icon," nearly static multi-layered atmospheric ruminations balance with a beautiful slowly unfolding melody that emerges in altered form as a solo clarinet statement from Speed at the piece's conclusion. The following number, " Luxuriate," is given over to ominous low textural soundscapes for much of its length; the mid-tempo groove and pretty theme of "Boombye" become unhinged by crashing power chords from Jensson that again recall Fripp, as Speed places his mellow clarinet over the top in one of the album's characteristically unusual juxtapositions. The crisp and propulsive up-tempo drumming that often elicits cheers from live audiences emerges most clearly on "Nion" and the unlisted portion of the album closer "Angels and Artiface." (The off-kilter ostinatos from the guitar on "Neon" actually recall King Crimson's "Discipline.") Alasnoaxis is a great debut for Black, although those who prefer their jazz unsullied by elements of the indie, prog, and avant rock worlds may be a bit put off. Oh well, you can't please everybody.

     Artist: Screaming Headless Torsos
     Album: 1995
     Label: FuzeLicious Morsels
     Year: 1995; release: 2002
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Size: 127 mb
     AMG Rating:


     This is the record that started it all. In 1995, the Screaming Headless Torsos burst out with their eponymous debut on Discovery. Guitarist David "Fuze" Fiuczynski, who had been active as a sideman for other players, finally stepped into the limelight. His virtuosity and versatility perfectly suited the open-ended project, a quintet lineup with Dean Bowman on vocals. Alongside reworked versions of Bill Evans and Miles Davis tunes, the Torsos laid down ten originals spanning the range from dirty funk to shimmering metal. As they put it up front in "Vinnie," their sound resembles "jazz funk thrash rock." Indeed.
     Now, six years later, Fiuczynski has reissued this record as 1995 on his Fuzelicious Morsels label. The newly remastered version adds a couple new tunes, including a twisted cover of Hendrix's "Little Wing" and the angular closer "Something." But it's essentially the same music, and an ideal introduction for new listeners curious about Fuze's iconoclastic style. Bowman's vocals pause for scattered moments of seriousness, including a lyrical requiem for Sarajevo, but more often speak brightly about the joys of life and the redeeming powers of music. For example, on "Free Man," Bowman declares:
     "For twenty long years, I had a secret: I could not read music. But now, thanks to Hooked On Funk, I'm a free man!"
     The Torsos profit from a solid lineup, including the wide-ranging Jojo Mayer on drums. Daniel Sadownick adds significant depth on percussion, texturing the music but never interfering with its forward thrust. But what marks this group is that they're completely together. Despite all the many detours into unknown territory, the Torsos operate as a group, not an ego vehicle for Fuze's monstrous musical powers or Bowman's vox populi.
     Much of 1995 will grate on sensitive ears, and jazz purists would best be advised to keep a safe distance. But for listeners like me, who quickly tire of safety and conformity, the Screaming Headless Torsos remain a revelation of the highest order. Their first record deserves a careful listen and withstands hours (years!) of repeated play.

     Artist: Buddy Holly
     Album: Not Fade Away-The Complete Studio Recordings and More
     Label: Hip-O Select
     Recording Date: 1957-59
     Format/bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
     Size: 1 Gb (6 CD)

     The great and highly influential Buddy Holly had a relatively brief three year professional recording career. However, because of his enormous talent, enthusiasm for music, and the fortunate emergence of recording tape while he was quite young, we have been left with a vast recorded legacy of 203 tracks that fill out the six CDs of this new limited edition Hip-O Select box set, "Not Fade Away/The Complete Studio Recordings And More."

     The 203 tracks range from his earliest recordings when 12 to 15 years old to demos with Bob Montgomery; from his earliest recordings with The Crickets and a set of garage recordings to his first studio recordings for Decca in Nashville; from the Coral and Brunswick recordings and hits that made him famous to his heralded apartment tapes. There are 6 previously unreleased tracks, including most of an August 1955 session, plus another 11 recordings previously unreleased in the U.S. Furthermore, all of the original, locatable undubbed original recordings are here as well as all 57 of the overdubbed versions recorded both in New York City and Clovis months and even years after the "day the music died." Many of these recordings are also hard-to-find or are making their CD debut, having only appeared on the 1979 LP/cassette box set . ~ Amazon.com

Artist:8½ Souvenirs
Album:Happy Feet
Label:RCA
Release:1995
Genre:Jazz
Format, bitrate:mp3@256K/s
Size:87.3 MB
Time:47:41

Picture Django, Les Paul, and Cole Porter shoe-horned into a Rio dance hall in, say, 1937. Picture the floor worn bare from dancing. That's only a pale idea of this CD's creativity and outright fun. Chrysta Bell's smokey voice sounds a little like Anita Baker's, and she more than does justice to a snappy version of Porter's "It's All Right With Me", a highlight of this CD. And you'll be sifting your dog-eared French and Italian grammars and bellowing "Yo lo Visto" down the freeway in no time! Amazon.com

     Artist: Sugar Blue
     Album: Threshold
     Label: Beeble records
     Year: rel. 2009
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 71:54
     Size: 155,02 Mb

     Artist: Pink Martini
     Album: Hang On Little Tomato
     Label: Heinz Records
     Years: 2001 - 2004
     Format: MP3 @ 192Kbps
     Time: 54:57
     Size: 77Mb.
     AMG rating

     It would be easy to liken Pink Martini's music to the lounge and swing revivals of the '90s. However, the 12-piece mini-orchestra's mix of jazz, classical, Latin, and vocal pop sounds more organic than the work of, say, Combustible Edison. Like the Squirrel Nut Zippers -- who were always more than just a straightforward swing revival band -- Pink Martini do more than just rehash their influences; by dabbling in different sounds that they love, they've come up with their own. And even on the most theatrical moments of their second album, Hang On Little Tomato, such as the Yma Sumac-meets-chamber jazz of "U Plavu Zoru" or the smoky Italian ambience of "Una Notte a Napoli," a lot of genuine sentiment shines through. Though most of Hang On Little Tomato -- named after a vintage Hunt's Ketchup ad -- consists of originals, a few well-chosen covers stake out Pink Martini's sonic territory: the festive "Anna (El Negro Zumbon)"; Villa-Lobos' "Song of the Black Swan"; a downright swellegant version of "Let's Never Stop Falling in Love"; and "Kikuchiyo to Moshimasu," which features Hiroshi Wada, the slide guitarist who played on the original recording of the song. Amid all the multiculturalism, Hang On Little Tomato emphasizes the French and Cuban elements of Pink Martini's sound, with "Dansez-Vous" and the lovely "Autrefois" nodding to the former, and the ever-so-slightly mischievous ballad "Lilly" tipping its hat to the latter. The album's moods are almost as wide-ranging as its sounds, spanning the innocence of the title track's '30s pop and the Bacharach-esque sweetness of "Clementine" to the world-weary "Veronique" to the smoky romance of "Aspettami." A more full-fledged album than the band's debut Sympathique, Hang On Little Tomato offers a charmingly populist approach to music. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

     Artist: Chris Isaak
     Album: Christmas
     Label: Reprise
     Year: 2004
     Quality: mp3@320 kbps+covers
     Size: 90 mb




     If you're going to invite a hipster recording artist into your home for Christmas, it may as well be Chris Isaak -- he's cool but he's also well-mannered, and can act sly enough for your thinks-she's-bohemian sister without scaring your Grandmother in the process. Like no small number of veteran recording artists, Isaak has cut an album of holiday tunes, cleverly called Chris Isaak Christmas, and while like most similar projects you get the sense that Chris didn't put quite the same amount of work into this that would of gone into a "real" album, he thankfully didn't skimp on quality control along the way. Isaak wrote five new tunes for this project, and "Washington Square" and "Christmas on TV" are solid contributions to his catalog of bummed-out love songs, while "Gotta Be Good" is a likable nugget of blues-flavored growl. Elsewhere, Isaak has thrown in a solid selection of Christmas standards, which he and his band have given an easygoing but full-bodied treatment that's solidly in the style of his best work, favoring the playful over the cloying. On the cool scale, Chris Isaak Christmas sure won't replace your copy of the Phil Spector Christmas album, but as background music for your Christmas party it makes for a happening switch from treacle like Kenny G or Mannheim Steamroller, and you know you can count on a surfer to sing "Mele Kalikimaka" like he already knows what it means. Just don't let Chris get too close to the mistletoe. The guy has a reputation, you know. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

КАКТУСЫ по ЧЕТВЕРГАМ (выпуск третий)

     Artist: Moscow Symphony Orchestra
     Album: The Music Of Deep Purple
     Label: Zero Corp
     Year: 1992
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 57 min, 10 sec
     Size: 137 mb.

     Итак, друзья мои, как Вы, наверное, уже догадались, в сегодняшнем выпуске "кактусов" мы немного отвлечёмся от музыки "Ливерпульской четвёрки" и обратимся к творческому наследию ещё одной, не менее великой британской рок-группы - Deep Purple. Честно скажу, доводилось мне слушать парочку оркестровых аранжировок этого бэнда. Но зацепила меня именно эта версия. Может, раньше слышал что-то не то? Впрочем, если у кого-то есть что-нибудь подобное - давайте делиться музыкой.
     Приятных Вам впечатлений от прослушивания!

     DEEP PURPLE/THE MOSCOW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Music Of Deep Purple (Performed by the renowned Moscow Symphony Orchestra, this 1992 Japanese promotional sample copy CD album features 12-tracks including Smoke On The Water, Black Night and HighwayStar and is conducted by Constantine Krimets. Recorded live in Moscow in April 1992

     Artist: Rod Stewart
     Album: Fly Me to the Moon: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 5
     Label: RCA MUSIC GROUP
     Year: Oct 19, 2010
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 Kbps
     Time: 39:42
     Size: 94Mb


     Rod Stewart has been mining the Great American Songbook for the better part of a decade, so it would only make sense that he would get a little bit better as time goes by. And, by some stroke of fate, Fly Me to the Moon -- the fifth installment in this never-ending series and first since 2005, as Rod spent the back half of the 2000s taking songbook detours into rock and soul -- is Stewart’s best album in the entire series. Some credit must be due to producer Richard Perry, who returns to the project after a few records off, but what distinguishes Fly Me to the Moon isn’t precision but relaxation. Rod is cool and loose, comfortable with the contours of these standards, which he should be after singing them for ten years. Standards still may not be suited for Stewart’s particular gifts -- unlike the rock and R&B numbers of his early years, he has absolutely no interest in rearranging the tunes or doing something unexpected with them, so he simply wraps his soulful rasp around them, sometimes sounding too ragged for the surroundings -- but he knows how to make his flaws work in his favor. He sounds like he’s having fun swinging through the tunes everybody knows by heart, and that’s the difference on an album that’s otherwise interchangeable with what came before: usually, the Great American Songbooks sound obligatory, but here there’s enough spirit coming from Rod to make this the best album in the series.

     Artist:The Notting Hillbillies
     Album: Missing... Presumed Having a Good Time
     Label:Warner Bros.
     Year:rec. / rel.1990
     Format:MP3 @ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 40:43
     Size:89,2 MB
     AMG rating:

КАКТУСЫ по ЧЕТВЕРГАМ (выпуск второй)

     Composers: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
     Artist: Peter Breiner & His Chamber Orchestra
     Album: Beatles Go Baroque
     Label: Naxos
     Year: 1999
     Genre: pop-classic fusion
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 57 min, 24 sec
     Size: 135 mb.

Ну вот, опять подвёл меня вчера мегааплоуд, цветочная лавка вчера никого ничем не обрадовала. Но постараюсь исправить ситуацию букетом свежих кактусов (говорят, текила из них вкусная получается).
Очередная аранжировка поп-музыки в классическом барочном стиле, прошу любить и жаловать!
Но для затравки расскажу небольшую историю из собственной жизни.
Смотрим далее...

     Artist:Warren Cuccurullo
     Album: Thanks 2 Frank
     Year: 1994,release: 1996
     Label: Imago
     Style: Punk/New Wave
     Format, bitrate: MP3@224kbps
     Time: 63:54
     Size: 98 Mb

Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo began his career with Frank Zappa, so it should come as no surprise that when he made his return to experimental music after years of pop craftmenship with Duran Duran and Missing Persons, he would do so under the guise of Thanks to Frank, a tribute to the late composer. Working with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Cuccurullo sounds creatively reborn. Drawing from a variety of different world musics, the guitarist fashions complex and challenging soundscapes that prove he learned a lot from Zappa. It's not a consistent record, but the best moments on Thanks to Frank showcase a guitarist overcome with the joy of finding his own voice.

     Artist: Eric Clapton
     Album: Slowhand
     Label: Polydor, 24 bit remastered, Japan
     Year: rec. May 1977/rel.Nov 1977
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 39:04
     Size: 86,7 Mb
     AMG rating:

     Artist: Jimi Hendrix
     Album: Band of Gypsys
     Label: Capitol Records
     Year: 1970
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Time: 45:16
     Size: 90 mb
     AMG Rating:

     Band of Gypsys was the only live recording authorized by Jimi Hendrix before his death. It was recorded and released in order to get Hendrix out from under a contractual obligation that had been hanging over his head for a couple years. Helping him out were longtime friends Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on the drums because the Experience had broken up in June of 1969, following a show in Denver. This rhythm section was vastly different from the Experience. Buddy Miles was an earthy, funky drummer in direct contrast to the busy, jazzy leanings of Mitch Mitchell. Noel Redding was not really a bass player at all but a converted guitar player who was hired in large part because Hendrix liked his hair! These new surroundings pushed Hendrix to new creative heights. Along with this new rhythm section, Hendrix took these shows as an opportunity to showcase much of the new material he had been working on. The music was a seamless melding of rock, funk, and R&B, and tunes like "Message to Love" and "Power to Love" showed a new lyrical direction as well. Although he could be an erratic live performer, for these shows, Hendrix was on — perhaps his finest performances. His playing was focused and pre cise. In fact, for most of the set, Hendrix stood motionless, a far cry from the stage antics that helped establish his reputation as a performer. Equipment problems had plagued him in past live shows as well, but everything was perfect for the Fillmore shows. His absolute mastery of his guitar and effects is even more amazing considering that this was the first time he used the Fuzz Face, wah-wah pedal, Univibe, and Octavia pedals on-stage together. The guitar tones he gets on "Who Knows" and "Power to Love" are powerful and intense, but nowhere is his absolute control more evident than on "Machine Gun," where Hendrix conjures bombs, guns, and other sounds of war from his guitar, all within the context of a coherent musical statement. The solo on "Machine Gun" totally rewrote the book on what a man could do with an electric guitar and is arguably the most groundbreaking and devastating guitar solo ever . These live versions of "Message to Love" and "Power to Love" are far better than the jigsaw puzzle studio versions that were released posthumously. Two Buddy Miles compositions are also included, but the show belongs to Jimi all the way. Band of Gypsys is not only an important part of the Hendrix legacy, but one of the greatest live albums ever.

     Artist: Elvis Presley
     Album: Christmas Duets
     Label: RCA Records
     Release Oct 14, 2008
     Genre: Pop/Rock, Christmas, Holidays
     Format mp3, bitrate:320 kbps
     Size: 51 MB

Продолжим праздничную тему. Как же без Короля рок-н-ролла? Итак, самые популярные праздничные шлягеры из бескрайнего репертуара певца, к которым добавлены вокальные партии лучших певиц сегодняшней американской эстрады. Среди них - Кэри Андервуд, Эми Грант, Оливия Ньютон-Джон и другие.

Elvis Presley never recorded duets, but that didn't stop RCA from compiling an album of duets for the 2008 Christmas season -- all with the help of the latest studio technology and ten willing duet partners.

     Artist: Nina Hagen
     Label:SPV
     Album: Big Band Explosion
     Year: 2003
     Quality: 320 kb/s
     Size: 93 mb

В ноябре 2003-го Нина Хаген обнародовала свой 12-й студийный лонг-плей “Nina Hagen Big Band Explosion”. Над записью она работала с настоящим биг бэндом из Лейпцига (Leipzig BigBand). По словам певицы, на этом альбоме ей удалось воплотить мечту всей ее жизни — записать песни, вдохновленные оригинальной американской музыкой: блюзом, джазом, кантри. Огромную помощь в создании альбома оказал ей Люкас Александр (Lucas Alexander), с которым Нина записала два дуэта.

A big-band album from a Teutonic dominatrix that used to be pictured dressed in PVC and restraining ropes? Sure, why not? Just don't fall for the pretty bindi wear and butterflies flying out of her mouth on the cover. Nina Hagen is still Nina Hagen and time has made her gritty voice even grittier. The lady was born to entertain, and if you're warm to her in-your-face absurdity, Big Band Explosion is a heck of a lot of fun. You'll be on the edge of your seat as the singer delivers the tunes straight-faced, but you just know that any moment she's going to bust out the brash Nina of old. That's the way the most of the songs go -- almost to the point of being formulaic -- but if anyone is going to pull it off it's Nina. Her greatest moment -- or most grating, depending on your tolerance -- comes at the end of "I Want to Be Happy" when her guttural scatting ends in a cough and an "oh my God!" She's Betty Boop one minute and Godzilla the next, which is why her fans love her. The Leipzig Big Band does a fine job with the accompaniment, but they could have been pushed up a little higher in the mix, and you just have to wonder what the look on their faces was like. Wonder if naughty Nina's untied them yet. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide

    Artist: Norah Jones
    Album: The Fall
    Label: Blue Note EMI Music
    Release: 17 Nov 2009
    Styles: Songwriter/Adult Alternative
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 45:00
    Size: 105 Mb
    Bubu's Rating:

Two boyfriends, a band and one nice-girl image later, for her fourth album Norah Jones returns to the things in life a girl can trust: Tom Waits and her dog,
■ Norah Jones's first three albums,starting with 2002's surprise"phenomenon" Come Away With Me, have sold around 36 million worldwide.
■ Jones wrote most of The Fall on guitar.although she usually plays piano on stage.This is nothing new, however. She wrote her first ever solo composition, Come Away With Me, on guitar on her bed in a cupboard-size Greenwich Village apartment.
■ The fall's production by Jacguire King and inspiration from Male Variations isn't Jones's first Tom Waits connection. She recorded his The Long Way Home on second album Feels Like Home.
Key tracks: Waiting, You've Ruined Me, Tell Yer Mama. - By Phil Sutcliffe at Mojo