The Fall is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, released on November 11, 2009, by Blue Note Records. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 180,000 copies in its first week. As of August 2012, the album had sold over three million copies worldwide.

Background and production Before the album's release, Jones' website stated that she had taken a new direction, with new collaborators and producer Jacquire King. King hired songwriters Ryan Adams and Will Sheff, in addition to drummers Joey Waronker, James Gadson and Marco Giovino, keyboardist James Poyser, and guitarists Marc Ribot, Smokey Hormel, Lyle Workman, and Peter Atanasoff and bassists Frank Howard Swart and Dave Wilder. The album cover was taken by photographer Autumn de Wilde.New CD: The Fall at NorahJones.com, 11 September 2009

Singles and promotion The first single, "Chasing Pirates", was released on October 13, 2009. "Young Blood" was released as the second single in North America, Europe (minus the UK), and Japan. The music video was made available at iTunes on 30 March 2010. The song has reached No. 33 on the Japan Hot 100. "Stuck" was released as the second single on March 5, 2010, in the UK (digital download only). "It's Gonna Be" was released as the third single in North America in April 2010. It charted on the Billboard Triple A Chart and peaked on the airplay chart at No. 11 in April 2010. Jones performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

To promote the release of the album Jones appeared on:

Dancing with the Stars – October 20, 2009 Later with Jools Holland – November 3, 2009 Late Show with David Letterman – November 11, 2009 Good Morning America – November 16, 2009 The Colbert Report – November 18, 2009 The View – November 23, 2009 France Inter live in Paris – December 7, 2009 The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien – December 15, 2009 Jimmy Kimmel Live! – December 16, 2009 A Prairie Home Companion – December 19, 2009 Chelsea Lately – December 21, 2009 13 heures February 10, 2010 Skavlan February 12, 2010 Q TV April 2010 The Ellen DeGeneres Show – April 23, 2010 Good Morning America – June 11, 2010 (with Sarah McLachlan) The Ellen DeGeneres Show – June 25, 2010 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno – August 31, 2010 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson – September 10, 2010 Late Night with Jimmy Fallon – October 26, 2010

Reception

The Fall received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 73 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 22 reviews.

Billboard gave the album a score of 83 out of 100 and stated that "Jones ditches the gentle piano-playing of her previous work and rises to a new level of creative boldness." The New York Times gave it a favorable review and called it "the sonic and emotional expansion [Jones'] music needed, and it's tied to some of her most unguarded songs."Pareles, Jon (2009-11-15). "New CDs (Norah Jones: 'The Fall')". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-17. Uncut gave it four stars out of five and said that "The emotional imprint... moves beyond the pining, wistful tones that are [Jones'] trademark in favor of Sex And The City scenarios bursting with heartbreak, regret and emotional devastation." Q also gave it four stars out of five and praised the album for its "copper-bottomed classics". musicOMH likewise gave it four stars out of five and said, "Less predictable was her now clear desire to take risks and step off the all-too-well-forged path of safe, agreeable background music. Instead, on The Fall Norah Jones chooses to defy categorization." Hot Press gave it a score of four out of five with the header: "Easy listening princess goes indie-goth." The Boston Globe gave it a favorable review and stated that Jones "seems liberated from the expectations of what her music is supposed to sound like, and the album is flush with fresh production ideas and a varied sonic palette."

Filter gave the album a score of 78% and stated that "unlike Not Too Late, Jones’ latest decision to ditch her keys for strings is a poor one. In a way, she has indeed found a different beat to groove to, and if anyone can play in a piano bar without a piano, it would certainly be Norah Jones." Paste gave it a score of 7.6 out of 10 and stated that "Jones is clearly comfortable with where she’s arrived, and is ready to throw open the doors for a party." Spin gave it a score of seven out of ten and said that the album "has been billed as Norah Jones' rock album. In fact, it's something even more surprising: a hot-blooded soul record from the queen of the even keel."

Other reviews are average or mixed: The Austin Chronicle gave the album three stars out of five and said it "offers many new sides to Jones while remaining comfortably close to the jazz diva many adore." Yahoo! Music UK gave it six stars out of ten and stated that "If the hardcore fanbase feel a blanch coming on, this isn't all wilful eclecticism gone mad. [Jacquire] King's work is The Fall's unifying factor that keeps it cohesive." Mojo gave it three stars out of five and said that "The wrong kind of sonic adventure undermines about half the songs." The Guardian also gave it three stars out of five and stated that "Jones's cashmere voice sounds more polite than ever, creating an overriding impression of a nice girl keeping dirty company." Under the Radar gave it five stars out of ten and called it "intelligent, tasteful, and well-executed music. But it ain't rock 'n' roll, not even a little, and damn Jones for trying to pretend that it is."

Track listing

Personnel

Norah Jones – vocals, piano , Wurlitzer electric piano , acoustic guitar , electric guitar , tack piano , glockenspiel John Kirby – synthesizer , tack piano , piano , Casio James Poyser – Wurlitzer electric piano , organ Matt Stanfield – programming , synthesizer Zac Rae – synthesizer , Rhodes electric piano, vibraphone, marimba , organ , Marxophone , clavinet Sam Cohen – electric guitar Smokey Hormel – electric guitar Peter Atanasoff – electric guitar Sasha Dobson – acoustic guitar Lyle Workman – acoustic guitar , electric guitar Marc Ribot – electric guitar , banjo Jon Graboff – pedal steel guitar Frank Howard Swart – bass Dave Wilder – bass Gus Seyffert – bass Catherine Popper – bass Tony Scherr – bass Marco Giovino – drums Robert Di Pietro – drums Pete McNeal – drums Joey Waronker – drums James Gadson – drums Will Sayles – percussion Mike Martin – backing vocals

On Live at The Living Room

Norah Jones – vocals, piano , Wurlitzer electric piano , electric guitar Sasha Dobson – electric guitar , acoustic guitar , backing vocals Smokey Hormel – electric guitar Gus Seyffert – bass , acoustic guitar , backing vocals Greg Wieczorek – drums

Production

Jacquire King – producer, recording, mixing Brad Bivens – additional recording Brian Thorn, Morgan Stratton – recording assistants Tom Schick – additional production , additional engineer , mixing Jon Stinson – mixing assistant Stephen Clemmer, Jimi Zhivago – recording engineer Steven Ha – live sound mix David Schoenwetter, Chris Allen – mixing assistants Greg Calbi – mastering Autumn de Wilde – photography Gordon H. Jee – creative director Frank Harkins – art direction, design

Charts

Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for The Fall Chart (2009–2010) Peakposition Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA) 1 European Albums (Billboard) 3 Greek International Albums (IFPI) 5 Irish Albums (IRMA) 20 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 6 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) 67 Swedish Jazz Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 1

Year-end charts + 2009 year-end chart performance for The Fall Chart (2009) Position Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA) 4 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 61 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 59 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 37 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 64 French Albums (SNEP) 42 Polish Albums (ZPAV) 66 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 60 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 43

+ 2010 year-end chart performance for The Fall Chart (2010) Position Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA) 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 66 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 36 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 19 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 21 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 81 European Albums (Billboard) 29 French Albums (SNEP) 107 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 44 US Billboard 200 28 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 2

+ 2011 year-end chart performance for The Fall Chart (2011) Position Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA) 47

+ 2012 year-end chart performance for The Fall Chart (2012) Position Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA) 47

Certifications

Release history + Release history for The Fall Region Date Format Label Japan November 11, 2009 EMI Germany November 13, 2009 Netherlands United Kingdom November 16, 2009 France United States November 17, 2009 Blue Note Brazil November 30, 2009 EMI

References