MADELEINE PEYROUX - “BARE BONES”

Bare Bones is jazz chantreuse Madeleine Peyroux's fourth album, but it is her first featuring all self-penned tunes. Achieving widespread notoriety with her Billie Holiday-like voice and superb gift for seductive interpretations, Peyroux now steps out front with her own songs, and the strength of her writing is evident in the fact that Bare Bones holds up very well in comparison to her previous efforts. Indeed, opener "Instead" sounds like nothing so much as a jazz standard, and would have fit comfortably on any of her first three albums. The title tune follows, still emphasizing the smokey, noir-like atmosphere that is Peyroux's strength, but here married to almost blues-rock chord changes and a gift for great contemporary lyricism ("I remember what my daddy taught me 'bout how warm whiskey is in a cold ditch/And one more thing about good and evil: you can't tell which is which/Well if the rest is lost to history or maybe wasted on a fool like me/I got these bare bones—he left me something after all."). "Damn The Circumstances" follows as a great torch song, while "River Of Tears" changes things up with its soft, pop-song like melody and wonderfully placed violin flowing through the last verse. "You Can't Do Me" is a slinky, offbeat pop confection, while "Love And Treachery" shows off her adeptness with the blues. Slightly more modern sounding is "Our Lady Of Pigatelle," with its' almost Steely Dan-like chorus. Throughout, Peyroux is in fine voice, and her accompanying rhythm section of Larry Klein on bass and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums is outstanding. Slot this one in your late-night listening section and you will not be disappointed.

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