Come Away With Me – Norah Jones (Analogue Productions vs. Blue Note)

Come Away With Me, the debut album by Norah Jones has been released in an audiophile vinyl reissue by Analogue Productions. Our review shows whether it really sounds better?

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Blue Note, 2004, Vinyl Review
Norah Jones – Come Away With Me, Blue Note, 2004
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, 2019, Vinyl Review
Norah Jones – Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, 2019

Which versions of Come Away With Me by Norah Jones do we compare?

Come Away With Me, Norah Jones’ debut album, was released on Blue Note Records on 26 February 2002. The older of our comparative sexpels was also released on Blue Note, but two years later, in 2004.

Our album is in a simple single sleeve and received no other additions. It was pressed on 166g vinyl and does not show any waves or streaks. But unfortunately some noise escaped the quality control, which could not be removed even by repeated intensive cleaning with different record washing machines.

On the Analogue Productions, on the other hand, there are no pressing faults to be found, either visually or acoustically. It was carefully pressed onto a decent lump of vinyl in 2019. Weighed in at a proud 226g.

Analogue Productions from 2019 has been given a gatefold cover made of strong cardboard in MoFi style as well as a high-quality inner sleeve. The lyrics are printed on the inside of the gatefold. Exactly as one would wish. However, the cover photo is a bit grainy, on the Blue Note the photo on the single sleeve was even sharper.

A little background on Come Away With Me

What else can be said about this Grammy-winning album, which has been awarded 4 gold and 62 platinum awards worldwide? Geethali Norah Jones Shankar is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, better known to Beatles fans as George Harrison’s sitar teacher (Shankar was also one of the most important figures in traditional Indian music).

Come Away With Me is considered one of the best-selling albums of all time. And as the Blue Note album that is “least jazz”. But the well-known mixture of pop, country, soul and jazz was recorded by jazz musicians.

How good do the two pressings sound in direct comparison?

In the listening test, Analogue Productions impressed with really great dynamics and low background noise. The Blue Note also pleases with a dynamic sound. But the vocals distort in some loud passages (such as Cold Cold Heart). This is colossally annoying and tarnishes the review. In 2004, vinyl records were unfortunately a niche product at best, the focus was on CD production. Quality control was probably not that important

How do the levels and dynamics differ between Blue Note and Analogue Productions?

Waveform diagram for Cold Cold Heart
Waveform diagram for Cold Cold Heart

The waveform for Cold Cold Heart shows only slight differences. The Bue Note has a slightly higher level. But in principle, the waves show that both pressings have considerable dynamics and were hardly processed with compressor or limiter during mastering.

Waveform diagram for Come Away With Me
Waveform diagram for Come Away With Me

The waveform for Come Away With Me also shows no glaring differences. However, the Blue Note worked on the loudness with a compressor, especially in the first half of the piece. This is recognisable by the larger deflections in the area of the arrows.

Waveform diagram for Feeling The Same Way
Waveform diagram for Feeling The Same Way

Feeling The Same Way is flawless pop and was mastered as such by Blue Note. Many more transients reach the stop of the threshold in the upper diagram, creating an image as if drawn with a ruler. Presumably, the Analogue Productions wave is an image of the mix without further compression. A limiter is not even needed – so the transients create an irregular image. You may not hear this difference, but you experience it as a somewhat more natural, because more uneven sound.

How does the loudness measurement of the Blue Note and Analogue Productions pressings show?

Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Blue Note, side 1
Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Blue Note, side 1

The loudness measurement with the Youlean Loudness Meter showed a loudness of -21.8 LUFS integrated (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) for side 1 of the Blue Note pressing.

Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, side 1
Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, side 1

Side 1 of the Analogue Productions pressing comes to a loudness of -22.8 LUFS integrated. The Youlean Loudness Meter is also used by mastering engineers and measures the average loudness and dynamic range of adios signals. For side 1 of the Analogue Productions we see a -0.3 dB lower loudness here. But this is all within the bounds and does not yet represent a sign of quality.

Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Blue Note, side 2
Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Blue Note, side 2
Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, side 2
Loudness measurement for Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, side 2

The loudness measurement for side 2 showed the same value of -22.3 LUFS integrated for both pressings. However, differences can be detected in tracks 4 and 4, i.e. Painter Song and One Flight Dawn, where the Analogue Productions diagram shows noticeably more green areas. Green areas represent quieter passages, for example the empty grooves between the songs. But within the songs, green passages show that here, too, there is a release from the gas.

How do the frequency spectra differ between Blue Note and Analogue Productions?

Frequency spectrogram for Cold Cold Heart (linear scaling)
Frequency spectrogram for Cold Cold Heart (linear scaling)

The frequency spectrogram for Cold Cold Heart shows significantly longer upward deflections for the Analogue Productions pressing. While Blue Note stops after about 18 kHz, Analogue Productions plays right up to the edge of the diagram. Very few people can consciously hear these frequencies. But psychoacousticians are quite sure that these frequencies are felt subconsciously.

Frequency spectrogram for Cold Cold Heart (logarithmic scaling)
Frequency spectrogram for Cold Cold Heart (logarithmic scaling)

While the spectrogram with the linear scaling shows especially the differences in the high frequencies, a logarithmic scaling shows differences in the bass well. However, only if there are any. In this case, the violet areas in both diagrams for Cold Cold Heart (as well as for the other pieces) are very similar and confirm the auditory impression: in the bass, there are no noteworthy differences between the pressings.

Frequenz-Spektrogramm für Come Away With Me (lineare Skalierung)
Frequency spectrogram for Come Away With Me (lineare Skalierung)

Auch in Come Away With Me lassen sich die höheren Ausschläge im Diagramm der Analogue Productions ablesen. Wer ganz genau hinsieht, wird die Ausschläge auch bei der Blue Note finden, allerdings blasser – also weniger laut.

Frequenz-Spektrogramm für Feeling The Same Way (linear scaling)
Frequenz-Spektrogramm für Feeling The Same Way (linear scaling)

Feeling The Same Way is louder overall on the Blue Note and optimised for loudness by compressor and limiter. Therefore, the chart shows higher values for the Blue Note across the entire frequency spectrum.

Which pressing of Norah Jones – Come Away With Me is better?

The difference between the album on Blue Note and the audiophile edition from Analogue-Productions is not that big at first glance. Only those who listen closely and look carefully will recognise many small differences. On Blue Note, for example, much more work was done with compressor and limiter, while on Analogue Productions the full dynamics of the master tape and thus a more lively reproduction was preserved. It has the nicer gatefold cover anyway.

Norah Jones Vinyl Album Review Come Away With Me, Blue Note 2004
Analogue Productions uses the same motif …
Norah Jones Vinyl Album Review Come Away With Me, Blue Note 2004
The back cover was redesigned for the gatefold cover
Norah Jones Vinyl Album Review Come Away With Me, Blue Note 2004
The logos of Analogue Productions and QPR are clearly visible on the label, on side A …
Norah Jones Vinyl Album Review Come Away With Me, Blue Note 2004
… and side B.
Norah Jones Vinyl Album Review Come Away With Me, Blue Note 2004
The gatefold cover shows the lyrics on the inside left …
Norah Jones Vinyl Album Review Come Away With Me, Blue Note 2004
… on the right side you can find the credits.
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, 2019, Vinyl Review
… but the photo of the Blue Note variant is sharper.
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, 2019, Vinyl Review
The blue note accommodates the lyrics on the back.
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, 2019, Vinyl Review
The Blue Note label features basically the same design, without additional logos, on side A …
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Analogue Productions, 2019, Vinyl Review
… and also on side B.
ArtistNorah Jones
TitleCome Away With Me
LabelAnalogue ProductionsBlue Note
Released20192004
Catalogue number509996-38779-1-5BTE 32088 7 243-5-32088-1-3
Format12“12“
Revolutions/minute33 1/333 1/3
TypeAlbumAlbum
CoverGatefoldSingle Sleeve
Add-onsLabel Folder
Mastered by  Kevin GraySterling Sound,Ted Jensen
Pressing plantQualityRecordPressings.comNot specified
Matrix-Runout50999 63877915-A/B APP-042 KG @ME@CABTE-32088-1A REI S-64484 THFM J.Y. BTE-32088-1B REI S-64484 THFM J.Y.
Edition/Limitation
Consecutive number
Country of manufactureUSAUSA