The Peter Malick Group Featuring Norah Jones - The Deluxe Collection (2007)

In this instance, "deluxe collection" denotes six songs that blues guitarist Peter Malick recorded with vocalist Norah Jones before she hit it big, a (previously released) EP's worth of material padded here into a two-disc, 31-cut set of radio edits, club mixes, dub mixes, and DJ remixes, with only eight of them previously unreleased. (There are nine versions of the set-opening "New York City" alone.) The material stretches itself pretty thin, as the equal billing given Jones with Malick (the only two members of the "Peter Malick Group" who appear throughout) aims to attract Norah Jones completists or tempt those who might confuse this with one of her own releases. Malick's four original compositions range from the psychedelic swirl of "Strange Transmission," given a girlish lilt by Jones, to the Rolling Stones/Velvet Underground propulsion of "Things You Don't Have to Do," on which the two duet. Jones rarely oversings the way Malick occasionally overplays, though a cover of Magic Sam's "All Your Love" finds Jones straining for emotive effect in a way that she never does on her own releases. ~ Don McLeese

Blues guitarist Peter Malick enjoyed a surprising career resurgence early in the 21st century after decades of obscurity, much of them spent outside the music business. His first taste of success came in his teens in the 1960s; he was 16 when his band Listening was signed to Vanguard Records. His youthful talent as a guitarist led to stints backing up such blues legends as John Lee Hooker, Otis Spann, Big Mama Thornton, and Muddy Waters. After serving as guitarist and musical director for the national touring company of the Broadway musical Hair in the early 1970s, he joined the James Montgomery Band and appeared on two of the group's albums, First Time Out (1973) and High Roller (1974). Then came 20 years outside of music, during which Malick struggled with addiction and earned money primarily as a gambler and in the gaming business. But by 1994, he had cleaned up and returned to music. Based in Boston, he launched a band and recorded the albums Wrong Side of My Life (1998) and Sons of the Jet Age (2000). In 2001, his work on the final Otis Spann album Last Call won him a W.C. Handy Award for historic album of the year. Malick began to work with several young, up-and-coming female vocalists whom he heard while touring, writing and recording with them. One of them was Norah Jones, and after she rose to fame in 2002, Malick issued an EP of his recordings with her, New York City, that reached the top half of the Billboard 200. It was followed by a full-length album, Chance & Circumstance, that repeated the Jones' tracks and added work with four other singers, one of them Malick's daughter, Mercy Malick. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music

Track List CD1

01. New York City[5:08]
02. Strange Transmissions[4:10]
03. Decepively Yours[4:20]
04. All Your Love[4:36]
05. Heart Of Mine[5:10]
06. Things You Don't Have To Do[3:13]
07. New York City (Radio Edit)[3:51]
08. New York City (DJ Strobe Brooklyn Vibe Mix)[4:01]
09. Strange Transmissions (Bastone & Burns Club Remix)[7:51]
10. Things You Don't Have (Land Shark Vocal Remix)[7:30]
11. Deceptively Yours (DJ Strobe Seedy Hotel Remix)[4:30]
12. New York City (Bastone & Burnz Club Remix)[7:44]
13. Thinks You Don't Have To Do (Land Shark Dub)[6:33]
14. Deceptively Yours (Land Shark Vocal Remix)[7:03]
15. New Your City (DJ Strobe Manhattan Tourist Remix)[3:32]

Track List CD2

01. Things You Don't Have To Do (DJ Strobe Loungin' Ibiza Remix)[4:42]
02. Strange Transmission (Chillout Remix)[4:36]
03. Deceptively Yours (DJ Strobe 7 Below Zero Remix)[4:26]
04. New York City (DJ Strobe Brooklyn Broken Beat Remix)[4:06]
05. Things You Don't Have To Do (Sunrise Remix)[5:43]
06. Strange Transmission (DJ Strobe 'Sand Under My Havianas' Bossanova Remix)[5:41]
07. Deceptively Yours (DJ Strobe Seedy Motel Sunset Remix)[3:45]
08. New York City (Lazy Sunday In Prospect Park Remix)[5:08]
09. New York City (Blastone & Burnz Radio Remix)[3:58]
10. New York City (Manhattan Tourist Retweak)[5:07]
11. Strange Transmissions (Bastone & Burnz Radio Remix)[3:42]
12. Strange Transmissions (Chillout Sunrise Remix)[4:35]
13. Things You Don't Have To Do (Lance De Sardi Vocal Remix)[7:32]
14. Things You Don't Have To Do (DJ Strobe Loungin' in Ibiza Sunset Remix)[5:10]
15. Deceptively Yours (Sunrise Remix)[4:22]
16. Deceptively Yours (Land Shark Vocal Dub Remix)[5:41]