Norah Jones was twenty-two years old when she released her debut album, “Come Away With Me,” in 2002. I was lucky enough to find her album in a thrift store the other day. I was immediately struck by the strength of her incredible vocals, and the expressive, jazz-influenced piano and guitar that support the album from start to finish.

Come Away With Me was definitely a refreshing change from the electronically-generated music that populates the radio today. The best song on the album, by far, was the first track, “Don’t Know Why.” I am not alone in this opinion, as evidenced by the five Grammy awards Jones won from that track alone. Some songs in the album, such as “Lonestar” and “Shoot the Moon,” seem to me like they belong in a movie montage, one in which the main character looks pensively across a foggy city skyline, reflecting deeply on life and its mysteries.

Overall, the album is a good one, an album that anyone can kick back and fall asleep to, or decompress on the car ride home. Norah Jones shows off her best in this album.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5