Others have commented that 'Feels Like Home' is more of a country album than a jazz album, but I think such categorization doesn't do Norah justice. She does borrow elements from country (or more specifically, bluegrass) to get that high-lonesome feeling on songs like 'Creepin' In' (deciding to do a duet with Dolly Parton was a brilliant move, by the way), and the arrangements seem to reflect a singer-songwriter sensibility. However, what makes this all work is the jazz chops of the singer and the band. Perhaps a comparison would help explain what I mean: whereas Joni Mitchell started out as a folk musician who experimented with jazz, Norah is jazz musician who experiments with folk, country, and blues.

I can't close this review without mentioning the first single, 'Sunrise.' From George Bush's militant cowboy rhetoric to Mel Gibson's brutal religiosity to the FCC's sanctimonious indignation, the world is filled with angry voices that attack us day-in and day-out. When I first heard 'Sunrise,' it gave me a feeling of inner peace that renewed my faith in humanity. Too grand a statement to make about a pop song with less than poetic lyrics? Perhaps. But sometimes the tiniest things can help us take the first step toward renewal.