They’ve Got It Covered

Norah Jones has a genuine way of not only warming hearts, but stealing them as well. It’s no surprise that her side project The Little Willies would do the same thing with their second release, For the Good Times. Jones on piano, Lee Alexander on bass, Jim Campilongo and Richard Julian on guitars bring fans a blend of book-shop jazz with unparalleled covers of Americana legends.

Ralph Stanley’s “I Worship You” opens the album with a banjo-packed punch, adding only Norah’s sultry vocals to change up the classic tune with a more modern flare.  The cover of Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City” is may even surpass the original, changing out Lynn’s fanatic twang for Jones’s euphoric  vocals. The album ends on an impossibly high note with a rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”  Jones recreates Parton’s softness while adding in a jazzy spin to leave a personalized  mark on the seemingly immeasurable song.

If you’re looking for something new and different, this album will leave you disappointed, but The Little Willies have a way of putting the most alluring and unequivocal spin on some of the most lonesome Americana music.