Not Too Late: Norah Jones Box Set Due On SACD, Vinyl

Much has always been made of the success rate of Grammy recipients in the Best New Artist category, with some artists damning the prize as a curse. While some winners have, indeed, been unable to match their initial success, the list of winners also includes such long-running artists as Tom Jones, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, and Sheryl Crow plus unlikely but distinguished names like Bob Newhart and Marvin Hamlisch, and a little band known as The Beatles!

One more recent winner who has certainly been able to dispel the existence of any curse is Norah Jones. True, Jones hasn’t repeated the titanic success of her 2002 debut Come Away with Me, which topped the Billboard 200, won five Grammys and sold over 10 million copies within its first three years of release. But she has carved out a dedicated fan base, continues to sell an impressive quantity of records (including 2004’s Feels Like Home and 2007’s Not Too Late, both multi-platinum sellers) and has challenged herself via an array of releases in various genres with various musical foils. Jones’ latest effort, Little Broken Hearts, arrived this week, and this collaboration with producer Danger Mouse has netted the artist further accolades. Coinciding with the release of Little Broken Hearts is the announcement of an SACD and vinyl reissue series for Jones’ entire catalogue as a solo artist including this week’s new release.

Analogue Productions, the audiophile specialist label behind acclaimed reissues from artists ranging from Pink Floyd to Nat “King” Cole, is teaming with Jones’ label, Blue Note Records, for the June 18 release of The Norah Jones Vinyl Collection and The Norah Jones SACD Collection. Come Away with Me (2002), Feels Like Home (2004), Not Too Late (2007), The Fall (2009) and Little Broken Hearts (2012) will be included in both packages, all remastered by Kevin Gray from the original sources. Although these titles will be available individually, those who purchase them as a box set will be rewarded with an exclusive bonus disc. The ten-track Covers, available only in the vinyl and SACD box sets, features Jones’ “rare or unreleased” interpretations of songs originally performed by Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Horace Silver, Wilco and others. The full track listing has not been announced for the bonus disc as of this writing.

Hit the jump for more information on these sets!

The LPs will be pressed on 200-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings and will be packaged in heavy cardboard stock, tip-on gatefold sleeves. The hybrid SACDs (with a layer playable on all CD players) will be stereo only, although Come Away with Me has previously been released on SACD in a 5.1 surround mix. Though Analogue Productions’ releases have been of the highest quality, the price tag is commensurate. At Analogue’s own website, the vinyl box set retails for $259.99 while the SACD box carries a tag of $229.99. The individual vinyl releases retail for $34.99 or $44.99 depending on the title, and the SACDs retail for $32.99 each. These titles may be available at a less expensive price point on Amazon and elsewhere in the coming weeks.

The Norah Jones Collection (both SACD and 200-gram vinyl formats) will arrive on or about June 18 from Analogue Productions and Blue Note Records.

Norah Jones, The Norah Jones Collection (SACD or Vinyl) (Analogue Productions/Blue Note, 2012)

Albums included:

Come Away with Me (2002)
Feels Like Home (2004)
Not Too Late (2007)
The Fall (2009)
Little Broken Hearts (2012)
Bonus Disc: Covers (2012)

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.