The first time you hear her you it hits you—this is Billie Holiday in some glorious, newly re-mastered recording you have never heard before. You're a little surprised and more than a little intrigued when you find out—this is Madeleine Peyroux.
This fascinating and unique lady has a voice crafted by dedicated training as a child spent growing up between France and the United States. Her first album, Dreamland, received high marks from critics, and her sophomore effort, Careless Love (Rounder), is anything but a disappointment.
The opening track "Dance Me to the End of Love" is pure dreamy magic showcasing this amazing voice. With a light piano riff from Larry Goldings and David Pilch's bass line, this is an energizing and satisfying new dance piece that makes you want to move. The intoxicating, Creole-blues flavor of "Don't Wait Too long", "Lonesome Road", and "Careless Love" is sure to ignite fans of swing or foxtrot.
Slightly more up-tempo pieces like "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" are also imminently satisfying. Madeleine Peyroux again establishes herself as a French chanteuse on the level of Blossom Dearie with "J'ai Deux Amours".
Despite the album's title, there is nothing careless in this recording. Producer Larry Klein has outdone himself in assembling a solidly packaged showcase for a voice that is hauntingly familiar and strikingly new all at the same time. Madeleine Peyroux takes us all the way to the end of love and beyond.
Gotta have it? Buy it now!
