Not Too Late is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, released on January 30, 2007, through Blue Note Records. It was produced by Lee Alexander, the songwriter and bassist featured on Jones's previous albums, Come Away with Me and Feels Like Home. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it Jones' third consecutive number one album.
Background and recording
Jones wrote most of the songs on the album when she was on tour during 2004 and 2005; for example, "Until the End" was written in the South Pacific, "Rosie's Lullaby" in Australia, and "The Sun Doesn't Like You" in Brazil. Jones wrote "Thinking About You" in 1999 with Ilhan Ersahin, her then-bandmate in Wax Poetic, but she thought it was too much of a pop song for her to record and rejected a version she recorded for Feels like Home. Jones had an acoustic guitar with her on the tour and wrote more songs with it than she previously had: "The guitar is simple and a lot easier to carry than a piano", she said.
After the tour concluded, Jones began recording the album with Alexander, who "tweak[ed]" the lyrics of the songs and "pulled [them] into better shape", according to Jones. Not Too Late was mostly recorded at Jones's home studio and is the first album Jones recorded without producer Arif Mardin, who died in the summer of 2006. Jones described the sessions as "fun, relaxed and easy" and without a deadline; executives at Blue Note Records reportedly did not know they were recording an album. Many of the sessions were "spur of the moment", with friends of Jones and musicians they recommended being asked to play. The album features guest appearances by organist Larry Goldings, singer-songwriter M. Ward, and Kronos Quartet cellist Jeff Ziegler. Jones said the songs on the album are "not so cut-and-dried" compared to her earlier material and have "a twist to them". In contrast to her previous albums, the piano, organ and Wurlitzer are not as prominent as the guitar: "the piano is always loud in the mix, but I've never been into it being the main rhythm instrument unless we're playing something funky. I've always liked the guitar as the rhythmic instrument", Jones explained.
Critical reception
Not Too Late 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 68 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews" based on 23 reviews.
Mojo gave the album four stars out of five and said that its majority "hums with a placid darkness and neurosis which is as delicious as it is unexpected." Uncut also gave it four stars and said, "What's especially daring about Not Too Late is the degree to which Jones and [producer Lee] Alexander trust their songs and her languorous voice to hold the listener's interest." musicOMH likewise gave it four stars and said that "This collection of quaint, feel-good numbers is not going to set the world alight, but it offers something warm and comforting to come home to." Now gave it the similar four stars out of five score and called it "A very good showcase for Jones's evolution as a writer and musician." The Phoenix gave it three stars out of four and said of Jones, "Too good to hate, not exciting enough to love, she still makes most of what’s out there sound like phony baloney." Hartford Courant gave it a positive review and also said of Jones, "Subtlety was a defining characteristic of her first two records, and it carries over onto 'Not Too Late,' where even the differences are understated and discreet."
Other reviews are average or mixed: The Austin Chronicle gave the album three stars out of five and said, "Jones has concocted a pleasing effort underneath its delicate air." Yahoo! Music UK gave it six stars out of ten and called it "Norah's most personal collection of songs to date." Drowned in Sound likewise gave it a score of six out of ten and said that while the album "is a shade darker than her mega-selling, Grammy-winning template, it's highly unlikely to win all that many new converts, and fans may find this album a little bit of a slog in places." Q gave it three stars out of five and said, "With a surfeit of samey country-rock ballads, Not Too Late ultimately proves rather a long haul." Blender gave the album two stars out of five and said that "the results are a mutant virus of gorgeous and bland, grainy and slick." The Village Voice gave it a mixed review and stated that Jones' voice "is still 'that voice,' but gravity was never what made it fly."
