Since before the start of her massively successful career (or at least since before her first album blew up and won a ton of Grammys) Norah Jones has been collaborating with some of her favorite musicians. Ranging from indie rock to reggae to hip hop to jazz, Norah Jones has not only shared a stage, but a studio, with tons of different and well known artists. Contained within this album, which is a compilation of previously recorded tracks, are collaborations with Ryan Adams, M. Ward, Charlie Hunter, Robert Randolph, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, and Outkast. She has also included the work she did with legends such as Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, and Herbie Hancock. Some of the best songs included are her collaboration with indie rocker and reggae connoisseur, Sean Bones entitled "Turn Them," and her duet with Dave Grohl which was originally released on a Foo Fighters album. Norah Jones shows not only how big a fan of music she is, but how many fans of her that she has. All of these recordings are the product of Norah Jones hooking with with the best in their respective fields for collaborations that are extraordinary. Now, they are all able to be found in one place, which makes it all that much more awesome.
The master of the pedal steel, Robert Randolph, has release his third album and has returned, slightly, to his roots as a musician. The album is incredibly heavy on the influence of gospel and soul music, and for this rocker, it's a bit of a departure from the sound of his first to studio albums. Also, this album is heavy on cover songs, with Randolph & band taking on songs by Bob Dylan, Prince, and John Lennon. In fact, Lennon's "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama" is one of the standout songs from this album. Randolph only co-wrote four of the tracks on this album, and one in particular is one of Randolph's best released songs. Featuring Ben Harper on guitar and vocals, "If I Had My Way," is an excellent combination of heavy guitar rock and gospel influenced blues which is the closest bridge to Robert Randolph's previous work. On this album the Family Band also plays a much larger role as many of the tracks feature Lanesha Randolph and Danyel Morgan on vocals. This T-Bone Burnett produced album is certainly a great one and really showcases Randolph's pedal steel mastery and unique mix of rock, gospel, soul and blues.
