The “old way” worked. Come Away With Me is tender and low-lit, a cocktail of tuneful mid-tempo blues balladry and country-soul that soars with the easy, weightless determination of a gull. For every assured cover song, like Jones’ hip-swinging version of Hank Williams’ “Cold Cold Heart” or her late-night, besotted take on Hoagy Charmichael’s “The Nearness of You,” she issues a slight nudge in another, unexpected direction. “Feelin’ the Same Way” ambles along with a buoyant bluegrass gait, while an accordion sneaks in behind her on the dreamy “Painter Song.” “Lonestar,” the most overtly Texan song on the record, adds a soupçon of slide guitar, which moves around her luminous, multi-tracked voice like a dance companion. Later, on the gorgeous “The Long Day Is Over,” a downy-soft brushed snare, piano, and low-slung guitar played by the great Bill Frisell guide Jones’ zigzagging vocals. Her voice swirls into maze-like melodies, rambling from a low whisper to a throaty call. And “Don’t Know Why,” Jones’ most popular song, captures the impulsivity she sought; the version included on the album uses her first vocal take. It arcs and moves with calming clarity, like an especially beautiful sunrise filtering through the trees.
Come Away With Me isn’t all unfussy easy listening. “I’ve Got to See You Again,” written by Harris, has lyrics that suggest an unhealthy attachment to an erotic dancer: “Lines on your face don’t bother me/Down in my chair when you dance over me,” Jones murmurs over a Fiona Apple-esque mixture of leisurely piano and a keening, unsettling violin. “I could almost go there/Just to watch you be seen.” She leaned further into sensuality on the title track, dashed off in “10 or 15 minutes” on an acoustic guitar she’d sent for from back home in Texas. Its opening verses sound as though she’s whispering to you from beneath the sheets: “Come away with me in the night/Come away with me and I will write you a song,” she offers. With its gently rising chorus, the tune remains one of the best showcases for the earthy luxury of Jones’ voice.
Upon the album’s release in February 2002, Blue Note marketed Come Away With Me with a blitz of press. They shipped thousands of copies to be sold at coffee shops, spas, and vineyards, aiming directly at the over-21 crowd. “Time, Newsweek, getting it played in Starbucks—people need to hear about a record,” Blue Note marketing director Zach Hochkeppel noted at the time. “They may not buy a lot of albums, but when they do, they become a hugely dedicated fanbase…. It was turbo word of mouth.” Reviews were positive, with several critics drawing comparisons to Diana Krall and Rickie Lee Jones, artists who similarly balanced jazzy inspirations with soul, Americana, and pop. The album debuted at No. 139 but only climbed from there: Jones’ music performed well on small-town radio, appearing on jazz and college stations and NPR. It helped somewhat that she arrived in the wake of another piano prodigy, Alicia Keys, whose debut had shifted many millions of units just a year earlier (and who would present Jones with her Best New Artist trophy at the Grammys). But Jones’ smoky, soft rock approach took gradual, almost uncontrollable hold over listeners. By August, the album had gone platinum.
