Norah Jones

The fourth album by Norah Jones, The Fall, could easily be one of her best since 2002's incredibly successful debut, Come Away With Me. The 13-track record (produced and mixed by Jacquire King, who has worked with Tom Waits and Kings of Leon) doesn't completely abandon the pensive, buttery ballads that typify her work, building instead upon the previous sound with a plucking acoustic guitar here ("December") and a bluesy rhythm there ("Tell Yer Mama"). This is Jones's guitar record and is more upbeat as a result, despite the melancholy, break-up-related subject matter. The Fall also flirts with ultra-melodic pop ditties like "Chasing Pirates" (already successfully remixed by Santigold) and "Young Blood." But her true talent lies in the way she unassumingly reinvents herself. Even though she doesn't sound as languid and naïve as her debut on the neo-blues rock of "It's Gonna Be," it's still unmistakably Norah.