The talented Norah Jones came to New York and got famous in spectacular, multi-platinum fashion. So it's inevitable that recordings she made before she hit it big are starting to come to the fore. Case in point, this CD by lyricist/songwriter/guitarist Peter Malick. Malick recorded these tunes with Jones in 2000 (when she was just 21), along with four other singers (Jess Klein, Kirsten Proffit, Antje Duvekot, and his daughter Mercy). Stylistically, Malick's music is a radio-friendly blend of country and pop, with just a tinge of jazz, the same kind of genre that launched Jones on her Blue Note debut. The material is mostly about love, longing, and big city life. While all of the singers have basically the same style, the six tracks with Jones's standout. Except for the slow blues number, "All of Your Love," and the organ-fueled up-tempo rocker, "Deceptively Yours," the rest of the guitar-centric music is in the mid-tempo meter. And, yes, Jones sounds the same on the quirky "Strange Transmissions" and the Nashville-nuanced "Heart of Mine" as she does now. Kudos to Mr. Malick for being in the right place and the right studio at the right time. --Eugene Holley, Jr.
