Careless Love [LP]

by Madeleine Peyroux

Overview

Madeleine Peyroux took eight long years to follow up her acclaimed 1996 debut, Dreamland. While her website claims non-chalantly that she "took a breather," it still amounts to a courageous act. Careless Love was produced by Larry Klein who hired some heavy hitters for these sessions; they include Larry Goldings, Scott Amendola, David Piltch, and Dean Parks. Even on first listen, Careless Love appears more focused than its predecessor. Klein's sense of restraint seeks subtler adventures in presenting Peyroux's voice and remarkable phrasing. The material is a curious collection of modern pop songs, country tunes, old nuggets, and the original, "Don't Wait Too Long," co-written with Klein and Jesse Harris. Peyroux's opening read of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love" is radical, it's still presented as a cabaret song, but deliberately lacks the drama of the original; instead, her tender annunciation draws closer attention to the powerful emotion in its lyric. Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" portrays the song's object as physically and emotionally present, to the delighted protagonist who knows sadness is approaching. Parks' guitar playing is sparse but physical; Amendola's brushwork complements Jay Bellerose's spare cymbal and tom-tom work, and Goldings' grooving organ and piano. The hinge track is Peyroux's version of Elliiot Smith's "Between The Bars" introduced by taut sonic ambience whispering in the backdrop, as Goldings' celeste underscores the atmospherics with a haunted groove. Amendola's brushes whisper and shimmer, allowing the singer to explore the lyric's devastatingly melancholic depths. The skeletal, ghostly treatment given Hank Williams' "Weary Blues" floats free of its country trappings. The band surround Peyroux's voice with uptown blues. Likewise, the title track, a standard composed by W.C. Handy, weds the sensual swing of Saturday R&B to Sunday morning gospel sway. Driven by B-3 organ and Rhodes piano, Parks adds dirty, spidery guitar, allowing Peyroux to seemingly swim inside the lyric, as it slowly and sensuously drips from her mouth. In choosing Klein for Careless Love -- one of the most empathetic producers of female vocalists -- Peyroux understood what was at stake in returning after such a long break. In the interim she's become a more confident, chancy, and commanding singer. She gets inside lyrics fully; she embraces her accompaniment as an aid in their expression rather than as merely a support vehicle. Balance that with the choice of material, and this set easily avoids the "sophomore jinx," and rises head and shoulders above the accomplishment presented on her debut. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	02/19/2016
Label:	Rounder
UPC:	0888072370432

Tracks

1. Dance Me to the End of Love
2. Don't Wait Too Long
3. Don't Cry Baby
4. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
5. Between the Bars
6. No More
7. Lonesome Road
8. J'Ai Deux Amours
9. Weary Blues
10. I'll Look Around
11. Careless Love
12. This Is Heaven to Me

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Madeleine Peyroux   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Nathaniel Shilkret   Primary Artist
Jay Bellerose   Drums,Percussion
Larry Goldings   Guest Artist,Piano,Celeste,Wurlitzer,Pump Organ,Organ (Hammond)
Kevin Hays   Piano
David Piltch   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Dean Parks   Guitar
Scott Amendola   Drums,Percussion
Lee Thornburg   Trumpet
Matt Penman   Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Helik Hadar   Audio Engineer,Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Larry Klein   Audio Production,Composer,Producer,Recording Producer
Spencer Williams   Composer
Frank Loesser   Composer
Burton Lane   Composer
Stella Unger   Composer
Sidney Russell   Composer
Bernie Grundman   Mastering
Bob Dylan   Composer
Bob Russell   Composer
Leonard Cohen   Composer
Toots Camarata   Composer
James P. Johnson   Composer
Ernest Schweikert   Composer
Elliott Smith   Composer
Vincent Scotto   Composer
Frank Reardon   Composer
Don Hecht   Composer
Madeleine Peyroux   Composer,Liner Notes
Gene Austin   Composer
W.C. Handy   Composer
Douglas Cross   Composer
Scott Billington   Producer,Recording Producer
Jesse Harris   Composer
Martha Koenig   Composer
Marvin Fisher   Composer
Nathaniel Shilkret   Composer
George Cory   Composer
Hank Williams   Composer
Alan Block   Composer
Salvador Camarata   Composer
Paul Blakemore   Mastering Engineer
Douglass Cross   Composer
Saul Bernie   Composer
Roy Alfred   Composer
Mason Williams   Producer,Recording Producer
Nicolas Fournier   Assistant Engineer
Martha E. Koenig   Composer
Andrew MacNaughtan   Photography
Henri Varna   Composer
Steven Jurgensmeyer   Design
Cindi Peters   Production Coordination
Ricky Chao   Assistant Engineer
Georges Konyn   Composer
Donald Hecht   Composer
Saul Bernice   Composer
Henri Vantard   Composer
George Douglas   Composer
Cory Cross   Composer