In Case You Missed It: Norah Jones’ “Covers” Gets Domestic CD Release

Norah Jones sure is everywhere. The singer/songwriter with the smoky voice and a deep musical bloodline (being the daughter of Ravi Shankar) exploded onto the scene with 2002’s Come Away with Me, a deft fusion of pop, jazz and country that topped the charts in nearly a dozen countries, won eight Grammy Awards and remains one of only 11 albums in this century to be certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America for over 10 million units shipped. She’s also a reliable guest performer, having collaborated with everyone from Ray Charles to Willie Nelson, and this year not only released a new disc, Little Broken Hearts, but lent her talents to the soundtracks to two comedy films: Seth Macfarlane’s Ted and Judd Apatow’s This is 40.

This week, fans got the chance to own a somewhat rare disc in her collection with the exclusive release of Covers to Target stores in America. The 10-track disc features unique takes on songs by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Fats Domino, Wilco and more, and is the first time one can buy it on a plain old domestic compact disc. (Covers was included as part of a special audiophile LP/SACD box set produced by Analogue Productions, and also got a standalone release in Japan around the same time.)

Available now at your local Target, Covers – featuring B-sides and bonus tracks from previous Jones projects as well as a few unreleased gems – can be checked out after the jump.

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!