Madeleine Peyroux - Half the Perfect World
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Artist: Madeleine PeyrouxBrand: PEYROUX,MADELEINE
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-09-12
Model: 00011661325227
Music Label: Rounder / UMGD
Soundtracks:
- IÂ?m All Right
- The Summer Wind
- Blue Alert
- EverybodyÂ?s TalkinÂ?
- RiverÂ? (duet featuring 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
Music reviews of Half the Perfect World
Music Review: 'HALF' Is Right On the Money...
Rating: 3 Stars
In 2004 Madeleine Peyroux released "Careless Love," a moody, slow-burning jazz/blues record that managed to sell well despite remaining under the radar. Every moment of it breathed passion, class and the ultimate in musicianship, and critics recognized the eerie similarity of her vocals to those of Lady Day. It is thus all the more disappointing that her highly anticipated follow-up, "Half the Perfect World," is so aptly titled.
What made "Careless Love" so brilliant was its eclectic song selection, understated charisma and warm, intricate atmosphere, and "Half the Perfect World" lacks all of these qualities. Rather than follow suit, it instead sounds like a product made with a specific audience in mind.
Forgettable moments slant toward the original material, including a trio of songs Peyroux co-wrote with Jesse Harris, heralded for his Grammy-winning work with Norah Jones. It's difficult to fathom how two accomplished musicians could strike such a bland key. The worst offender of the originals, however, is the ghastly "It's All Right," a non-Harris selection. Overflowing with embarrassing lyrics and sonic clichés, how it lived to see a day outside recording studio walls is beyond wonderment.
Elsewhere, her choice of covers doesn't work. Whereas previous choices from the likes of Bob Dylan and Elliot Smith were staggering, Tom Waits' "(Looking For) the Heart of Saturday Night" does not suit her at all. Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," a gorgeous classic, is also unengaging, while her reading of "The Summer Wind" breezes away with a sweet yet pedestrian air.
"Blue Alert" and the title track, both by Leonard Cohen and jazz musician Anjani Thomas, work slightly better. The lilting, samba-infused "Half the Perfect World" has a delightfully classy saxophone solo, while the former finds Peyroux in a sultry state despite awkward rhymes. Indeed, if she were to suddenly blurt, "her name is Gert/oh, blue alert" it would not sound out of place. Both tracks originate from Thomas' latest LP.
Still, her enchanting take on Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," is a saving grace. Her vocals stir with yearning and resolute melancholy, transforming the song into her own kind of lullaby. It is the only track worthy of her last album, and cannot afford to be missed
Unfortunately, "Half the Perfect World" is a disappointment. It is no easy task to follow up a classic without stumbling a bit, but this album is average at best - and Peyroux has set the bar too high to put out anything average. Those who have not heard "Careless Love" should investigate it, but this project, save for "Everybody's Talkin'" should be reserved only for the most ardent of fans.
Description of Half the Perfect World
Madeleine Peyroux doesn?t simply interpret songs, she possesses them?and vice versa. Half the Perfect World is the much-anticipated follow-up to Peyroux?s breakthrough album, Careless Love, which drew critical raves from around the world and sold more than a million copies. This time around, Peyroux focuses primarily on songs written by artists from her lifetime, including Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Fred Neil. The album also features an unforgettable duet with k.d. lang on the Joni Mitchell classic "River" and four original songs co-written by Peyroux, including the single "I?m All Right" which she penned with producer Larry Klein and Steely Dan?s Walter Becker. Half the Perfect World is a sublime showcase for Peyroux?s eloquent, understated delivery and timeless one-of-a-kind voice.Smokey-voiced chanteuse Madeleine Peyroux's third CD is a lovely collection of after-hours ruminations and should confirm her rise to fame. Credit producer Larry Klein for doing a bang-up job with the album's sound: the elegant, pared-down arrangements are all brushed drums, acoustic guitars, and cool organ licks. But of course it's Peyroux's voice that brings it all home--preferably one where the shades are drawn, embers are smoldering in the fireplace, and the white wine is kept dry. Two-thirds of the songs are well-chosen covers, including a duet with k.d. lang on Joni Mitchell's "River"; a relaxed version of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," from Midnight Cowboy; a delicately lilting samba take on Leonard Cohen and Anjani Thomas's title track; Serge Gainsbourg's "La Javanaise," performed in the original French; and Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," from Modern Times. The four originals, all coauthored by Peyroux, easily keep up with such august company, especially "I'm All Right"--written with Klein and Walter Becker, it captures the easy sophistication of Becker's regular band, Steely Dan. Fans of Norah Jones (whose collaborator Jesse Harris cowrote three of the songs) should gobble up this album, but Peyroux is no mere imitator: She's her own, very real thing. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
More Madeleine
 Dreamland |  Careless Love |  Got You on My Mind (with William Galison) |
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