Pick Me Up Off the Floor

by Norah Jones

Overview

Once she came to the end of the promotional cycle for 2016's Day Breaks, Norah Jones decided to challenge herself by recording a series of swift sessions with a rotating cast of collaborators. The intention was to release the results quickly, issuing them as a digital single at a time, and Jones followed through on this plan, releasing a new song every few months throughout 2018. These tunes were rounded up on 2019's Begin Again, but that wasn't the end of the project. Jones cut a number of songs during these sessions that were unreleased but not forgotten by the singer/songwriter. She kept listening to the rough mixes, eventually coming to the conclusion that these tracks would make a strong album of their own accord. Pick Me Up Off the Floor proves her instincts were correct. Lacking the purposeful digressions of Begin Again -- an album where the digressions were the entire point -- Pick Me Up Off the Floor is a tighter affair than its companion record, firmly rooted in the after-hours jazz-folk-pop hybrid that's Jones' calling card. Some of the cohesion may be due to how a good chunk of the album is anchored by her standby drummer Brian Blade, but it's also true that this record's collaboration with Jeff Tweedy is the amiably rambling "I'm Alive," a number that is firmly stationed within Jones' wheelhouse. The same could be said about Pick Me Up Off the Floor in general. There are accents and flourishes that distinguish the tunes -- "Flame Twin" is charged by curlicues of guitars and smears of organ, "To Live" is graced by muted horns straight out of the Big Easy -- but as a collection of songs, Pick Me Up Off the Floor winds up emphasizing how Jones slyly and elegantly synthesizes a pop sensibility with a jazz execution, a fusion that is comforting yet relies on her idiosyncratic twists. This blend of warmth and invention is what's so appealing about Pick Me Up Off the Floor: the shape may seem familiar, but the construction of the songs and the inventiveness of the performance keeps it fresh and surprising even after the first listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	06/12/2020
Label:	Blue Note / Virgin Emi
UPC:	0602508748868

Tracks

1. How I Weep
2. Flame Twin
3. Hurts to Be Alone
4. Heartbroken, Day After
5. Say No More
6. This Life
7. To Live
8. I'm Alive
9. Were You Watching ?
10. Stumble on My Way
11. Heaven Above

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Norah Jones   Primary Artist,Drums,Piano,Vocals,Celeste,Wurlitzer,Tambourine,Guitar (Acoustic)
Mavis Staples   Primary Artist,Vocals
Sasha Dobson   Primary Artist,Drums,Piano,Vocals
Dan Rieser   Drums
Christopher Thomas   Double Bass,Bass (Upright)
Josh Lattanzi   Bass (Electric)
Jesse Murphy   Double Bass,Bass (Upright),Bass (Electric)
John Patitucci   Bass (Electric)
Jeff Tweedy   Bass (Electric),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Ruby Amanfu   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Mauro Refosco   Shaker
Mazz Swift   Violin,Vocals (Background)
Brian Blade   Drums
Thomas Bartlett   Piano
Sam Ashworth   Vocals (Background)
Dave Guy   Trumpet
Leon Michels   Sax (Tenor)
Dan Iead   Pedal Steel
Nate Smith   Drums
Paul Wiancko   Cello
Wes Hutchinson   Vocals (Background)
Josh Adams   Drums
Pete Remm   Organ,Mini Moog,Guitar (Electric)
Spencer Tweedy   Drums
Ayane Kozasa   Viola

Technical Credits

Slash   Composer
Andy Taub   Engineer,Recording
Steven Adler   Composer
Izzy Stradlin   Composer
Irving Berlin   Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering Engineer
Patrick Dillett   Engineer,Recording
Greg Calbi   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Duff McKagan   Composer
Mark Greenberg   Assistant Engineer
Jeff Tweedy   Composer,Producer
Ravi Shankar   Composer
Thomas Bartlett   Composer,Producer,Recording
Homer Steinweiss   Engineer,Recording
Matt Marinelli   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Axl Rose   Composer
Kris Kristofferson   Composer
John Prine   Composer
Norah Jones   Composer,Producer,Recording
Steve Fallone   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Tom Schick   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Tom Elmhirst   Recording,Mixing Engineer
Jake Owen   Recording,Engineer,Recording
Frank Harkins   Design,Art Direction
John Muller   Mixing Assistant
Judy Chin   Make-Up
James Yost   Assistant Engineer
Paul Wiancko   Engineer,Recording,String Arrangements
Lee Alexander   Composer
Pete Remm   Composer,Producer
Brandon Bost   Engineer
Sarah Oda   Composer
Samuel Wahl   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Jamie Landry   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Joey Wunsch   Mixing Assistant
Emily Fiskio   Composer
Matthew Scatchell   Mixing Assistant
Diane Russo   Photography