Review: Norah Jones' "Not Too Late"

This is a review of Norah Jones' latest offering, "Not Too Late". I read a review about this album on the Metro a few mornings ago and it noted that she had written most of the songs on this album, which is exciting to me because she's always just sung songs written by others. In fact, she's been criticized for that as well -- she's been labelled a good singer, but that's it.

I like her voice. She's got a really unique voice, and honestly I just like it a lot. The music is nice and mellow, and lyrics are meaningful. It's the kind of stuff you'd listen to while walking by a lake or on the street while it's raining lightly and seeing kids playing in a yard. It's a great "reminiscing" album, not that it's even about that, but it makes you think. That's the kind of mood I get from it.

In her first album, which is the only other album of hers that I own, I found every song catchy. This album is more of a mood thing, not so much a 'catchy tunes' album. It's relaxing, almost therapeutic at times. I think she's proven to any of her doubters that she can definitely write music, and write well.

I paid $14 for it after tax at Futureshop, which is decent except that I saw it for cheaper the next day at HMV. I hate that. Anyway, here's a quick breakdown:

Creativity (7/10) - There's a decent amount of variety on the CD. Different styles like jazz, country, and head-bopping-side-to-side beats. There's a song where she whistles, which I think is cool. Nothing ground-shaking though.
Worshipability (0/10 * 7/10) - I'll alter this category for the sake of not giving extremely low marks for secular music. Let's call this category "Singalongability".
Value (10/10) - Anything under $15 after tax is a good price.
Longevity (8/10) - I can see myself listening to this a lot because it's not very distracting.
Intangibles (9/10)- It's a nice little case, and not a hard plastic one. It's paper but it's sturdy and it's thinner than the average CD case. It's also got a neat cover and a different slot for which the lyrics come out.

Overall: 41/50