Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love
By: Mark Runyon | Category: Album Archive | 02/24/05 | 06:55 PM
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Grade: A | Genre:
Vocal Jazz
Summary: Peyroux is shockingly good in her flawless execution of these classic numbers. She displays an unyielding talent softly searching the corners of its potential. The prospect that we haven't yet seen the full journey she's taking us on is a fascinating thought. |
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 The line of distinguished modern female jazz vocalists is comprised with the talents of Norah Jones, Diana Krall and Cassandra Wilson. Room needs to be made for one Madeline Peyroux. Eight years have passed since Peyroux released Dreamland that fell into the adoring arms of critics and racheted up sales of 200,000 copies with zero hits and a scarcity of radio play. Then she vanished like a mirage to leave us wondering what was that fascinating flash in the dark. Careless Love has materialized in its full beauty to convince us that Peyroux wasn't simply a trick of our overzealous imaginations.
Peyroux's voice definitely has a breath of Billie Holliday lingering within. It's hushed, it's playful, it's fever manifested. She effortlessly moves through these songs leaving traces of her dusted on each. Her range of material keeps this collection fresh. She turns down the lights to explore the hollowness of Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars". She skips along in a quaint innocence over Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go." She turns Hank William's country ballad "Weary Blues" into a smoky blues flavored melody complete with blunted trumpets and quivering pianos. She opens up the musical timeline like a cookie jar to snack among the delectable thoughts scattered haphazardly along the way. The opening track Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" is an intricate waltz through the streets of Paris at night. The lights dance in their release, the street stains from the day are covered in a dense black and windows flash of tantalizing pastries. Every sense is aflame. She coaxes perfection from "I'll Look Around." Originally a song performed by Billie Holliday, Peyroux wraps herself in this piece like a soft blanket. Her voice sits quiet propped up underneath her longing that searches for an end to the empty days of a deserted love. Subtle rays of hope poke their way through in her vocal inflections. It slowly infects every part of you. Peyroux is shockingly good in her flawless execution of these classic numbers. She displays an unyielding talent softly searching the corners of its potential. The prospect that we have yet seen the full journey she's taking us on is a fascinating thought. Let's hope the demons fame has fanned in the past don't keep this chanteuse quiet for another eight years.
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