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Half the Perfect World | 
 enlarge | Artist: Madeleine Peyroux
Label: Rounder / UMGD
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $4.48
You Save: $13.50 (75%)
New (51) Used (33) from $3.00
Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 1529
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 613252
UPC: 116613252276
EAN: 0011661325227
ASIN: B000GFLE86
Release Date: September 12, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | I m All Right | | • | The Summer Wind | | • | Blue Alert | | • | Everybody s Talkin | | • | River (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 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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) |
Album Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Almost perfect November 19, 2008
J. Ang (Singapore)
Peyroux is one jazz chanteuse with mass appeal - her mix of new tunes and familiar covers are seamlessly put together to a cohesive whole.
Her own compositions like 'I'm Alright' fit right into the blend, with singer-songwriter classics like Tom Waits's '(Looking for) the Heart of Saturday Night' and Joni Mitchell's 'River' (on which k.d. lang guests to give some street cred), along with jazz standards like 'Summer Wind' popularised by Frank Sinatra in the 60s.
 relaxing and enjoyable September 2, 2008
RagnLunatic (Las Vegas, NV)
I heard Smile on my satellite radio so I decided to buy this cd and another one of hers. I have yet to take this cd out of my car and it has been several weeks.
Better late than not at all... August 8, 2008
Reginald Hill
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
i guess i am the last person on this planet to hear of Madeleine Peyroux, matter of fact it was last week. i just went over the top with excitement and ordered Half the Perfect World and Careless Love immediately.
opinions, someone once said, are like "a. holes" (if you know what i'm referring to) and everybody has at least one and so here we are trying to make a statement about Madeleine Peyroux's talent. say whatever you will and think whatever you like and on the bottom line it really doesn't matter one bit because what is is and what is not is not. Madeleine is not Billy Holiday, though she sounds like her on some recordings and so what if she does? this woman is a bona fide original artist of the first rank and her songs are distinct and reflect an artistry above mediocre, fake run of the mill modern day copy cats who hide behind time honored musical standards for lack of genuine talent. Madeleine's songs are unlike the copy formats and her renditions are arranged and played in a unique style, a blend of many different musical elements from different artist, traditions and eras. her uniqueness is obvious in that she is able to blend these elements into a new and distinct style all her own, unlike anybody else. the songs are arranged with a ensemble that perfectly complement her singing and playing style and the flavor of the song itself. the simplicity of it all highlights the " what is needed, what is best no more or no less" this avoids the tendency to clutter up the recording with fake appendages and electronic guizmo insertions to cover up for the lack of real talent. no, Madeleine is real, fresh, new and unspoiled by the greed for fortune and fake fame.
lets just sit back and enjoy this sweet talent and accept it on its own merit without trying to remake it in our own critical image which, as i said already, does not matter one iota. those who criticize are themselves unknown by name and no doubt lacking in any measure of talent and fame; therefore, why don't all of you who have something negative to say,just shut the f. up!!!
reggio/chicago
Michelle Peyroux Half The Perfect World April 18, 2008
Anna M. Seidler (San Francisco, Ca.)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This cd is delightfully lyrical with songs I enjoy even while reading. Not too intrusive, the music lingers, however, in one's memory. I have played it frequently, sometimes listening to the lyrics and other times, reading.. I heard Ms. Peyroux while shopping in a local health food store. Asked the sales person who the singer was and then I ordered it from Amazon. End of story. Anna Seidler....
 Dissapointing after her others April 11, 2008
Stephen Masson
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I really like Peyroux's first two albums - she has a lovely voice - but this one left me cold. The first track is very good, and the title track isn't bad - almost everything else is dull and lifeless. Some of the covers are frankly awful. If you are coming to this artist for the first time I strong advise you to try Careless Love or Dreamland dreamland first. This one seems to have been airbrushed to smooth out anything interesting.
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