“Waiting” finds her doing just that, wondering why and will she ever learn and will waiting at all ever get “you” to return. “Stuck” brings in some scratchy, heavy electric guitar and the play of the bass, piano, and string synth remind me, in a slight way, of the chorus to Lou Reed's “Satellite Of Love.” Call me "crazy," but I hear it.
“Tell Yer Mama” finds Jesse Harris and old friend Richard Julian helping with the songcraft on this mid-tempo country romp. The bass thumps out solid plunks as the drums pound an Indian bop hop beat. The clavinet provides an interesting sound twist to this tale of someone who just can’t see that the girl is waiting for him to come around.
“It’s Gonna Be” is the thunder-and-lighting track as its three minutes of heavy, rumble drums; thick bass grooves; mean guitar; and a “tuff” sounding Wurlitzer set the stage for Norah’s assertive vocals. She pushes you back telling how its gonna be: “Aim at the ones who’ve really hurt us/ They should be arrested for murders.”
“Back To Manhattan” and “December” are the jazzy/country tunes that could have been pulled from her previous recordings. “Manhattan” is a quiet piece about going back to something or someone you’d thought you could simply ride away from. “December” scales things back more as this one is only played with acoustic guitar, some light programming and synth, and of course Norah’s piano and sublime vocals.
“Man Of The Hour” is the album closer and finds Norah alone at the piano telling of her “man” of the hour: a dog. After listening to this witty little ditty, it makes you wonder and rethink the focus of some of the others songs' lyrics. Then there is the album cover with her in a furry-looking wedding gown with a top hat and a Saint Bernard at her feet while the CD insert has her in the same dress surrounded by dogs.
Norah Jones’ The Fall is mostly set to a different pace for her. Some fans may be a bit taken back at first, but Norah is the same talent overall and can still make you think and sing along with her poetry and wit set to wonderful music.
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