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Bare Bones is a remarkable work from one of the best artists in vocal jazz.
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All sound pretty wonderful in the hands of Peyroux's stealthy, silk-draped vocals, delivered with a winning air of slightly detached mystery.
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Bare Bones is a beautifully slow-cooked album that encourages us to look on the bright side. Not a bad message these days.
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The smart and emotional material makes for an impressive step away from the retro ghetto.
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It all feels tasteful, companionable and often saggingly dull. Perhaps a steelier singer could use this much gauze; for Ms. Peyroux, it’s Vaseline on the camera lens.
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Peyroux still sounds like Peyroux, only more so. Which isn't a bad thing either.
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Peyroux doesn't need to abandon her trademark loose-limbed style, but she needs to push at the edges of it more.
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Predictably, the results are mixed compared to previous efforts--the quality of her performance remains extraordinarily high, but the material is spottier than usual, particularly when Peyroux stretches beyond her comfort zone and into newfound emotional real estate.
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On her fifth CD, Bare Bones, the Georgia native puts her stamp on all-new material, and weaves an alluring tapestry of sonic elegance, vocal character and lyrical bite.
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It is, in other words, a rejection of progression and passage for mood and form. Peyroux mastered such silken aura long ago, and while that may make the album somewhat of a retread, it's a playful one nonetheless.
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MojoAt her new best, Peyroux sings as elegantly as Peggy Lee and writes lines bearing the downbeat clarity of Leonard Cohen. [Apr 2009, p.98]
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There's the odd jarring note but Bare Bones remains a work of high class, deep feeling and, let's not forget, magical singing.
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UncutDespite some interesting -co-writes with the likes of Walter Becker, it never achieves lift-off. [Apr 2009, p.82]
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Peyroux's care for her materials never falters.
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Q MagazineAnother way classy set they make. [May 2009, p.118]