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Madeleine Peyroux - Half The Perfect World (2006)

GENRE: VOCAL JAZZ

(Sam Yahel & Larry Goldings, keyboards, Dean Parks, guitar, other sidemen, string quartet with arrangements by Mark Orton)

I think Peyroux is the most exciting vocalist on recordings at the moment. This is her third album, and even better than her sophomore effort, Careless Love. It's easy to describe her as a Billy Holiday-sounding chanteuse, but that diminishes the highly individual and original aspect of her art. One reviewer put Peyroux's style in the "postmodernist coolness" bag, but that makes me think of Patricia Barber, who is light years different.

Her sublime vocals on these dozen tracks are mostly from songwriters active during her lifetime, rather than older sources as used on her previous album. They include Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Fred Neil, Randy Newman, even one song written by Peyroux with her producer Larry Klein and Walter Becker of Steely Dan. The songs mostly explore romantic relationships and mix a strong folk element in with the modern jazz. Peyroux frequently accompanies her vocals on guitar. Having spent some years performing in Paris, the Southern-born vocalist usually does at least one song on each album in French. This time it's Serge Gainsbourg's La Javanaise.

Though dismissed by some critics as a Billie Holiday imitator, Madeleine Peyroux has her own distinctive approach to singing. The Lady Day comparisons are apt, and Peyroux's take on breezy, melancholic jazz and blues pushes a vintage button, but her albums are dressed up in enough contemporary style to make them fresh. HALF THE PERFECT WORLD (2006), for instance, is a deeply pleasurable listen from back to front. Whether she's bringing her elegant, intimate touch to familiar contemporary favorites like Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" and Tom Waits's "The Heart of Saturday Night," or offering up her fine originals, Peyroux turns in a batch of gorgeous, studied performances on HALF. The result is a quiet, haunting gem of an album.

The arrangements are thoughtful and varied and never override the focus on Peyroux's very distinctive voice. Some nice instrumental touches are provided by Larry Goldings on celeste, Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar and saxist Gary Foster- sounding like Stan Getz. Sonics are fine, and there are complete lists of all performers and details on each track, but no lyrics.

TrackList: I'm All left, The Summer Wind, Blue Alert, Everybody's Talkin,' River (with k.d. lang), A Little Bit, Once in a While, Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night, Half the Perfect World, La Javanaise, California Rain, Smile.

01. I'm Alright

02. Summer Wind, The

03. Blue Alert

04. Everybody's Talkin'

05. River

06. Little Bit, A

07. Once in a While

08. (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night

09. Half the Perfect World

10. La Javanaise

11. California Rain

12. Smile

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Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123