STAY WITH ME VOLUME TWO

Don’t Know Why

Come Away With Me

Something Is Calling You

Turn Me On

Lonestar

Hallelujah I Love Him So

When Sunny Gets Blue

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

(from studio session demos, pre-Come Away With Me)

Crazy

(from FM broadcast or webcast, live at Chicago House Of Blues 4/16/2002)

Cold Cold Heart

(from official DVD Live In New Orleans, live at New Orleans House Of Blues 8/24/2002)

Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want To Get Over You)

(from FM broadcast or webcast, live at Beacon Theatre, NYC; due with Willie Nelson)

In The Dark

(from FM or TV broadcast, live with Jools Holland & His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra 2/7/2002)

Thumbs Up!, a new CDR label from the Coffee, Tea Or Me family, issues the second in its  Stay With Me series (Volume One consisted of non-album material). If you own the officially released First Sessions EP you already have five of the tracks here, the first five the batch of nine studio demos listed above. Among the other material are some pretty snazzy covers of  Ray Charles (“Hallelujah, I Love Her So,” but redone as “love him so”), Elvis (“Are You Lonesome Tonight”), the old jazz standard “When Sunny Gets Blue” and Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.”  The remaining four cuts are culled from various broadcast and official sources: the Patsy Cline classic “Crazy,” the Hank Williams song “Cold Cold Heart” which Jones has featured in her setlists since the release of her first album, the Waylon Jennings tune “Wurlitzer Prize” she also recorded for a Jennings tribute album, and an old big band number, “In The Dark.” How’s THAT for diversity?

It’s possible, by the way, that some of the songs have surfaced as B-sides or as bonus material on overseas Jones releases, but I wasn’t able to source all of them.

Great sound, good material, and nominal but tasteful packaging (color photos nabbed from a recent Mojo feature on Jones) – not an essential purchase, but with all the prominent covers, a very interesting one. -- OSWALD