Norah Jones or John Mayer?

[401krep]

Does anyone have the CD of either of these singers and if so, what is your opinion? THANKS!

Vanessa

[Canice]

I absolutely love the Norah Jones disk! Her voice is gorgeous on all the tracks, and the arrangements are wonderful. An especially nice sound for Fall, if that makes sense.
Want to pick up the John Mayer this weekend.....

[JenZen]

Norah Jones is incredible. I just read that she was nominated for some jazz award, but her music really isn't jazz. It's more like a mix of blues, folk, jazz and ballads. I think it's gorgeous, and I'd highly recommend it.

[Natasha]

I like the Norah Jones CD too. The more I listen to it, I am starting to find that her voice is a bit "thin" on some tracks (I'll probably be run out of town for saying that), but by and large I enjoy the CD. :)

Natasha

[Ralph]

Another Norah Jones fan here, too. (Make that 2 - DW likes her.) However, when we saw her on The Tonight Show a few weeks ago, her voice sounded really thin, more like you would hear in an intimate nightclub rather than at a concert venue.

[Melman]

I only am familiar with the one song they play on the radio (and that is in the top 10 on VH1 each week recently.) I love her voice!! I thought for sure it would be someone with a few years behind them. I was really surprised when I saw her picture and realized she was probably in her early 20's??

I don't have the cd though...and I haven't seen her on any tv shows.

I liked John Mayer when they first released that one song, but then I started taking offense with it. :D He talks about his "parents getting older" and wondered if "they wished for anything better" when I realized...HEY! he's talking about people MY AGE!! He's only about 22!! I may change my mind as other cuts are released. I know they just started playing another one of his songs in the past month or so.

PS..I heard him interviewed with Bob and Sheri (the Charlotte radio pair), and John seemed to have a great personality. All three of them were having a good time with the interview. He really seems like an all-around great guy. Very down to earth, etc.

[gertdog]

Funny, I have both of these CDs and purchased them on the same day about 2 months ago.

The Norah Jones CD is very mellow and pleasant. We've been playing it at dinnertime. I love her voice and the sort of "torch song" sound she has. I haven't listened carefully enough to notice if her voice is thin sometimes... mostly this plays in the background while I am doing other things.

I love the John Mayer CD. I think the "No Such Thing" single has been overplayed, but I still enjoy hearing it. The second single is "Your Body is a Wonderland" and I like that too. The sound of the rest of the songs on the CD are similar to the two singles. I've been playing this disc in my computer every day while working.

[lorilei]

Originally posted by Melman
I liked John Mayer when they first released that one song, but then I started taking offense with it. :D He talks about his "parents getting older" and wondered if "they wished for anything better" when I realized...HEY! he's talking about people MY AGE!! He's only about 22!!

Ah -- but don't you remember the brilliant young minds of your generation -- and how they "wished for better"? :)

John Mayer appeals to me because he's young and fresh and optimistic about change. If you like what's being released on the radio, you'll like the album overall. And if you appreciate lyrics that really speak, you won't be disappointed.


As for Nora Jones -- I do enjoy her album, and I appreciate the fact she's really trying to reach another generation with jazz music. Some of her songs border a bit too much on "pop jazz" for me, but I do think she has a good voice -- and a great deal of talent and insight for someone of her age!

[Mandy]

Another Norah Jones fan checking it. If you don't have the CD, I get it, it's worth it.

[Canice]

Originally posted by Melman
I liked John Mayer when they first released that one song, but then I started taking offense with it. :D He talks about his "parents getting older" and wondered if "they wished for anything better" when I realized...HEY! he's talking about people MY AGE!! He's only about 22

I thought everyone under 30 thought their parents had pathetic lives?? :confused:

[KristinK]

John Mayer fan piping in...

My mom bought me the CD for Christmas last year, and I was like, who's he? Well I played it and loved it right away. And being his same age, I can relate to a lot of his lyrics (including the aforementioned quote about parents - no offense to anyone!). But gertdog, I agree that "No Such Thing" is overplayed, and I love "Your Body is a Wonderland" - and I'm afraid overplaying will ruin it for me now :( But it's one of the few CDs I have that I actually like listening all the way through - the songs are that good. But too bad DBF loved it so much too - now I can't get it back from him!

Oh and when I was watching his video my sister pointed out that he'a almost trying to be like Dave Matthews - he makes the same facial expressions and even rocks back and forth like him too. Oh well. I still like him :)

Oh and I like the Norah Jones single but it hadn't convinced me to buy the CD (although your opinions might have), especially since DBF doesn't really like music that mellow. We'll see.

[Holly in KC]

Agree with previous comments... the first single has been way overplayed, but the entire CD is marvelous! 83 & Love Song for No One are 2 of my favorites on the CD.

[HeidiD]

I had the Norah Jones/John Mayer debate when I went into a music store a few months ago, and I came home with the John Mayer CD. If I weren't so cheap, I would have bought Norah Jones, too, and probably will ask for it for Christmas.

I just love John Mayer's energy and really enjoy every song on the CD. As someone else posted, "Your Body Is a Wonderland" is a favorite and I'm bummed that commercial radio might play it to death. I've seen John interviewed a couple times and he seems like a cool, down-to-earth guy with real talent. In one of the live TV interviews, he was asked to play a little something on his guitar and he pulled out all the stops. My husband plays guitar and was very impressed. I'll definitely buy John Mayer's next CD.

[401krep]

Thanks for the input. My birthday is in 2 weeks and I was thinking of adding one of these CD's to my "wish list". Guess I'll ask for both!

Vanessa

[granolagirl]

Funny, I think I have gotten about 3 new CD's in the last year and 2 of those are John Mayer and Norah Jones. :)

Both are really good. Norah Jones is great to listen to either at dinner or while just kicking back. And John Mayer, well, I'm really into the whole "No Such Thing" thing. ;) Imagining my 10 year reunion that is coming up in a couple of years.....

[RebeccaT]

I like both of these CDs so much, but Norah is a bit too mellow for the car, if that makes any sense...

John Mayer, well, he's my new favorite. Amazing. I love the songs "Neon" and "3x5." His vibe reminds me of early Vertical Horizon (for those of you who went to college in the South East) and David Wilcox, as well as the obvious Dave Matthews comparison. And, well, my 10 year reunion is next month, so I am living "No Such Thing" at the moment as I try to figure out what exactly I have done in the "real world" over the past 10 years. :confused:

[KValley]

John Mayer has been on my tentative "to-buy" list for a few months now- looks like I'm breaking down to get this- last week I cleaned out about 10 CDs, so I have room for at least one more ;)

I've raved about the Norah Jones CD on another thread, but listening to it this weekend for the first time in several weeks and reading this thread, I realized another layer to why I like it so much. Her voice doesn't (yet) have great depth- perhaps it will mature, perhaps this is her chosen style. But its quality is what I so enjoy- in a world of over-produced , triple-layered histrionic vocals (I won't name names, but I'm thinking MC, BS, KC, CA ;) ) it is so refreshing to hear such simplicity. ANd the songs she chose and arrangments thereof complement her voice perfectly- the arrangements are understated, smooth, gentle- she isn't competing with the music.

I think, as I wrote before, she is searching for her own voice- she's put together an amalgamation of Joni Mitchell, Alison Krauss, Billie Holiday, RIckie Lee Jones, DIana Krall- she's casting her net about for the right feel- this album seems to be a tribute to her favorites. Perhaps next time she will find a voice all her own, but I hope she maintains her simplicity and clean, original arrangements of classics.

She reminds me a lot of Chet Baker or Eliane Elias- neither are accomplished vocalists, but their voices had/have charisma, a unique sound, endearing, wistful, sincere. To me, like Chet and Eliane, she is a musician first, singer second... Definitely one of my favorites of the year...

For trivia buffs, she's Ravi Shankar's daughter- music's in her blood!

[AndreaU]

Just heard Norah Jones for the first time last week on the radio as DH & I were falling asleep- he made me (and himself) stay up until we could get her name, which we wrote down before we forgot it the next morning. Well, off to the store the next day to buy the cd! We love it! Buy it! Listen often!

She reminds me a bit of Edie Brickell and Eva Cassidy rolled into one.