For the Good Times

VINYL FORMAT. "I love playing country music," says Norah Jones. "More than any other genre, it makes me feel at home." Over the past 10 years, The Little Willies, a group of friends and like-minded souls—Lee Alexander (bass), Jim Campilongo (guitar), Norah Jones (piano, vocals), Richard Julian (guitar, vocals), and Dan Rieser (drums)—have periodically gathered to make music for fun, playing their favorite country tunes and conjuring that down-home spirit. With their second album, For the Good Times, The Little Willies take on songs by such masters as Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton. The results demonstrate the joy they take, and commitment they make, to a project that was first born for purely practical reasons.

Material for the new album was taken from the Willies' live repertoire, and by passing around ideas drawn from disparate sources. The selections include more surprising choices, like the trucker classic "Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves" and "Foul Owl on the Prowl," from the soundtrack to In the Heat of the Night. Alongside the more obscure songs, though, For the Good Times also includes some of the best-known songs in the history of country music, like Parton's "Jolene" and the title track, written by Kristofferson and made famous by such singers as Ray Price and Al Green. "