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Half The Perfect World by Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine Peyroux

Half The Perfect World

Release Date: Sep 12, 2006

Genre(s): Pop, Jazz

Record label: Rounder

70

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Album Review: Half The Perfect World by Madeleine Peyroux

Very Good, Based on 1 Critic

AllMusic - 70
Based on rating 7/10

Madeleine Peyroux took significantly less time than the eight years between her debut and its follow-up to release her third album, Half the Perfect World, which finds a more mature -- or at least less vulnerable -- singer, one who chooses to express herself with nuance rather than overtness. Often, like in the opening "I'm All Right" -- one of four original songs -- this aversion to unconcealed emotion works well, playing off the swelling Hammond, the swinging rhythm of the acoustic guitar (contrasting nicely with the hook of "It's all right, I've been lonely before"), and the simple drums. But at other times, like in "A Little Bit" -- which is bluesy and more upbeat and practically screams for an outburst, a growl, something -- her hesitancy instead almost comes across as a flaw, as a fear of fully expressing herself.

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