Norah Jones Enlists Ryan Adams, Tom Waits' Band For New Album

Norah Jones has recruited Ryan Adams, Okkervil River's Will Sheff and some of the vital members of Tom Waits' Mule Variations band for her upcoming fourth studio album, due out in November. The LP will be Jones' first since 2007's Not Too Late. Both Adams and Sheff are listed among the songwriter collaborators, as well as Jessie Harris, who penned Jones' Grammy-winning 2002 hit "Don't Know Why." Jones' upcoming album also finds the songstress teaming with producer Jacquire King, who previously worked with Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon and Ryan Adams.

"I knew I wanted to try some different things on this album," Jones said. "I'd been playing with the same musicians for a long time. We're all still friendly and I hope we play together again, but it felt like a good time to work with new people and experiment with different sounds." Jones said she opted to collaborate with Jacquire King because he was the engineer on one of Jones' favorite albums, Tom Waits' Mule Variations. King arranged for Jones to share the studio with musicians like Joey Waronker (Beck's frequent drummer), but the big names among Jones' new band are guitarists Marc Ribot and Smokey Hormel, both of whom featured on Waits' Mule Variations.

Unlike previous albums, Jones wrote the songs for her upcoming album on an acoustic guitar instead of a piano. "It just felt more natural for me to play it on these songs," Jones said of the change. "I knew I wanted to play with grooves more than I have on previous albums. Some of these new songs lent themselves to having driving rhythms underneath." More info regarding Jones' latest LP is expected soon.

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Song Stories

“Youth Knows No Pain”

Lykke Li | 2011

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”

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