Not Too Late

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."

Accolades

By January 29, 2007, the album had become the most pre-ordered album of all time on Amazon.com, Jones' second album after Feels like Home to reach the merchant's all-time top ten pre-order list.

The first single from the album was "Thinking About You", which was released in the U.S. in early December 2006 and was one of the first songs by a major artist to be available for paid digital download in mp3 format. "Not Too Late" was released as a radio single in Taiwan in early 2007. For the week beginning January 23, the entire album was streamed on VH1.com's "Hear Music First" program. Jones recorded an hour-long performance for UK BBC radio and television that was aired in late January, and she performed via simulcast on the feature Live@BT: Norah Jones for Canada's Citytv in early February. The third single from the album was "Sinkin' Soon", released in March.

Jones was scheduled to embark on a twenty-two date concert tour of North America, beginning on April 13 and ending on May 12. One of the dates was to take place at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, on April 28. On February 16, 2008, Not Too Late re-entered the Greek International Albums Chart at number fourteen and climbed to number thirteen the next week. On August 18, the album returned to the top ten on the French Albums Chart and reached number seven.

Commercial performance

Not Too Late debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 405,000. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the 18th highest selling album of 2007 in the US, with 1.5 million copies sold. In the United Kingdom, it entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the 800th number-one album in the history of the chart; it sold 60,500 copies in its first week. It debuted at number five in Japan, opening with sales of 36,400 copies; in Canada, the album entered at number one with opening week sales of 36,000. In Australia, it entered the ARIA Albums Chart at number two and was certified gold with shipments of 35,000 copies. The album reached number one in seventeen countries, including Germany and France. (For more information, see Charts.) According to a press release from EMI, Not Too Late is certified gold or platinum in twenty-one countries as of February 2007. In February, the IFPI awarded the album a platinum certification for shipping one million copies in Europe.

Track listing

Japan bonus track

Deluxe version DVD

1. "Thinking About You" – music video
2. "Sinkin' Soon" – music video
3. "Until the End" – music video
4. "Thinking About You" – Making of....
5. "Sinkin' Soon" – Making of....
6. "Until the End" – live performance filmed in Burbank, CA, in November 2006
7. "Sinkin' Soon" – live performance filmed in Burbank, CA, in November 2006
8. "12 minutes interview" – with Norah Jones

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.