Half the Perfect World is the fourth studio album by American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux . It was released on September 12, 2006. It peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and had sold 218,000 copies in the United States by December 2008.[ 10]
The album contains four original songs, all of them co-written by Peyroux, and cover versions of songs by Johnny Mercer, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Charlie Chaplin, Serge Gainsbourg, and Leonard Cohen.[ 1] "I'm All Right ," "A Little Bit" and "Once in a While " were released as singles.
David Dye listed the album at number 10 on World Cafe 's list of the top 10 CDs of 2006.[ 11]
"I'm All Right " (Walter Becker , Peyroux, Larry Klein ) – 3:27
"The Summer Wind " (Hans Bradtke, Henry Mayer, Johnny Mercer ) – 3:55
"Blue Alert" (Leonard Cohen , Anjani Thomas ) – 4:10
"Everybody's Talkin' " (Fred Neil ) – 5:10
"River " featuring k.d. lang (Joni Mitchell ) – 5:19
"A Little Bit" (Jesse Harris , Klein, Peyroux) – 4:02
"Once in a While " (Harris, Klein, Peyroux) – 4:00
"(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night" (Tom Waits ) – 3:27
"Half the Perfect World" (Cohen, Thomas) – 4:21
"La Javanaise" (Serge Gainsbourg ) – 4:11
"California Rain" (Harris, Klein, Peyroux) – 2:57
"Smile " (Charlie Chaplin , Geoffrey Parsons , John Turner ) – 3:57
Madeleine Peyroux – vocals, acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6–8, 10, 11)
Sam Yahel – piano (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12), Wurlitzer electric piano (1, 3, 6, 8, 11), Hammond organ (1, 3, 6), Estey organ (7, 9, 10, 12)
Larry Goldings – celeste (tracks 3, 10)
Till Brönner – trumpet (tracks 8, 12)
Gary Foster – alto saxophone (tracks 2, 9)
Dean Parks – guitars (exc. track 3; solos on 1, 6), ukulele (1, 11, 12)
Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar (tracks 8, 11)
David Piltch – double bass
Scott Amendola – drums (tracks 2, 5, 9, 12)
Jay Bellerose – drums (exc. 2, 5, 9, 12), additional cymbals (2, 9)
String quartet arranged by Mark Orton (tracks 7, 10)
^ a b Brown, Marisa. "Half the Perfect World" . AllMusic . Retrieved November 9, 2017 .
^ Hermann, Andy. "Half the Perfect World by Madeleine Peyroux" . Artist Direct . Retrieved November 9, 2017 .
^ Being There Magazine review Archived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ Fordham, John (October 27, 2006). "Madeleine Peyroux, Half the Perfect World" . The Guardian . Retrieved November 9, 2017 .
^ JazzPolice.com review Archived October 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Snow, Mat (November 2006). "NY State of Mind: Madeleine Peyroux Half the Perfect World ". Mojo : 104.
^ musicOMH.com review
^ Rolling Stone review
^ "inthenews.co.uk review" . Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2011 .
^ Cohen, Jonathan (December 1, 2008). "Peyroux Goes 'Bare' On New Album" . Billboard . Retrieved December 12, 2008 .
^ Dye, David (December 4, 2006). "World Cafe's Top 10 CDs of 2006" . NPR .
^ "Australiancharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums – Week Commencing 11th September 2006" (PDF) . The ARIA Report . No. 862. September 11, 2006. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via National Library of Australia .
^ "Austriancharts.at – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Ultratop.be – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Ultratop.be – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Lescharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ Top 50 Ελληνικών και Ξένων Aλμπουμ – Eβδομάδα 29/10–4/11/2006 [Top 50 Greek and Foreign Albums – Week of 29/10–4/11/2006] (in Greek). IFPI Greece . Archived from the original on November 5, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Italiancharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Charts.nz – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Spanishcharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Veckolista Jazz, vecka 37, 2006" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Swisscharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Madeleine Peyroux Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Madeleine Peyroux Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Madeleine Peyroux Chart History (Traditional Jazz Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "ARIA Top 20 Jazz & Blues Albums for 2006" . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Tops de l'année | Top Albums 2006" (in French). SNEP . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "The Year in Music & Touring 2006 – Top Jazz Albums" . Billboard . Vol. 118, no. 51. December 23, 2006. p. YE-80. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books .
^ "ARIA Top 20 Jazz & Blues Albums for 2007" . Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Year End Charts – Top Jazz Albums" . Billboard . 2007. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2020 .
^ "ARIA Top 20 Jazz & Blues Albums for 2008" . Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "ARIA Top 20 Jazz & Blues Albums for 2009" . Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Brazilian album certifications – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil . Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums" . Radioscope. July 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .
^ "British album certifications – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" . British Phonographic Industry . December 8, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2023 .