Madeleine Peyroux: Careless Love (2005)

Jim Santella

Senior Contributor since 1997

Jim Santella has been contributing CD reviews, concert reviews and DVD reviews to AAJ since 1997. His work has also appeared in Southland Blues, The L.A. Jazz Scene, and Cadence Magazine.

Recent articles (1,677 total)

Published: August 9, 2005

Bringing a wide variety of musical styles to her latest album, Madeleine Peyroux gives her audience warm interpretations that come from the heart. Hers is an emotional performance driven by love. Whether singing lightly Latin, old school swing, country & western ballads, or contemporary tales, she communicates naturally with subtle passion.

Since she was a teenager, Peyroux had taken to busking on the streets of Paris. Her desire to share with an audience comes from a thorough understanding of the persuasive charms that vocal music holds. Through her songs she takes the listener away to New Orleans, Chicago, New York, Nashville, Memphis, and beyond. The music is timeless. Her performance simply reminds us of the pleasures it can hold.

W.C. Handy's "Careless Love" and Hank Williams' "Weary Blues" take us back to the Mississippi River and the days when the blues told a story. Peyroux convinces in a manner that few can manage, with her tossed-off phrasing and swirled melodies. She drapes each song around her neck like a loose scarf and lets it fly in the breeze. Careless Love translates to carefree love as Peyroux relates to her audience intuitively.

Singing in French, she interprets "J'ai Deux Amours" the way songs have been handed down for centuries. Dean Parks, Larry Goldings, David Piltch and Jay Bellerose provide superb accompaniment for this contemporary singer whose desire to communicate with a wider audience has finally been fulfilled. Careless Love comes highly recommended.

Visit Madeleine Peyroux on the web.

Track Listing: Dance Me to the End of Love; Don't Wait Too Long; Don't Cry Baby; You're Gonna Make Me Lonesone When You Go; Between the Bars; No More; Lonesome Road; J'ai Deux Amours; Weary Blues; I'll Look Around; Careless Love; This is Heaven to Me.

Personnel: Madeleine Peyroux: vocals, acoustic guitar; Dean Parks: guitars; Larry Goldings: piano, electric piano, estey, organ, celeste; David Piltch: bass; Jay Bellerose: drums, percussion; Lee Thornburg: trumpet on "This is Heaven To Me" and "No More;" Scott Amendola: brushes on "I'll Look Around."

Record Label: Rounder Records
Style: Vocal