Bare Bones

Studio album by

Released

March 10, 2009

Recorded

Late 2006-08

Madeleine Peyroux chronology

Half the Perfect World
(2006)

Bare Bones
(2009)

Standing on the Rooftop
(2011)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
The Guardian	^[3]
Slant	^[2]

Bare Bones is the fifth studio album by American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux. It was released on March 10, 2009.^[4]

The album received both critical and public acclaim. It received favourable reviews and the lyrics were praised. Commercially, it reached number 1 on the Jazz charts and entered on the Billboard 200 at number 71. The album debuted and peaked at number 12 on the Official UK Albums Chart.

All the songs were written or co-written by Peyroux. According to her, the album is an attempt to resume her philosophy of life and she started working on it after the release of Half the Perfect World.

Song information

The album opens with "Instead", a retro-tune with a positive message ("Instead of feeling bad/be glad/You're not on your own"), which resembled old Depression-Era songs.^[5]
The second track, the title song, supposedly inspired by a passage from a book by Buddhist nun Pema Chödrön, "When Things Fall Apart: Heartfelt Advice for Difficult Times",contains Shakespearian references: "Old Hamlet's done now, dead and gone, and there's no ghost walks/Poor Yorick tells ya everything he knows with no tongue to talk".
"Damn the Circumstances" is a slow-tempo song, which critics considered to be one of the "most memorable and enchanting songs of the album".^[6]
"River of Tears", written by Peyroux in collaboration with her producer Larry Klein, sings about her father who "could sit and drink the way a monk could pray", while she also seems to invite listeners to listen to some smooth jazz. On this track, Peyroux resembles Joni Mitchell.
"You Can't Do Me" was the first single of the album, released in February 2009. Although, as of March 25, 2009, it hasn't been released in any EP or video clip. It is an up-tempo, jazz-rock song, with the recognisable help of Walter Becker. The song makes reference to T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
The sixth track, "Love and Treachery", was considered by a critic as the "song Leonard Cohen never wrote".^[7]
"Our Lady of Pigalle", a classic song, is the scenario of a woman being propositioned walking around the streets of Paris late at night, referencing her to being a symbol of salvation. A version in French, "Notre Dame de Pigalle", was released as a bonus track in the Japanese Edition.^[8]
In "Homeless Happiness", fans are introduced to the singer's past experiences while she went busking through Europe. It talks about the advantages of living a simple life with "No worries, no hurries".
"To Love You All Over Again" is just in the right place on the track listing, balancing the sad songs with a more cheery rhythm.
"I Must Be Saved" is written solely by Peyroux. It is a love song that talks about how someone can lose everything, even the things they never thought they would lose, but they will always be saved. Peyroux dedicated this song to folk singer Odetta, her "spiritual grandmother", who died on December 2, 2008.^[9]
The album closes with "Somethin' Grand", which was written in "support of the new era with Barack Obama".^[9]

Track listing

"Instead" (Julian Coryell, Madeleine Peyroux) – 5:13
"Bare Bones" (Walter Becker, Larry Klein, Peyroux) – 3:26
"Damn the Circumstances" (David Batteau, Klein, Peyroux) – 4:37
"River of Tears" (Klein, Peyroux) – 5:21
"You Can't Do Me" (Becker, Klein, Peyroux) – 5:04
"Love and Treachery" (Joe Henry, Klein, Peyroux) – 4:20
"Our Lady of Pigalle" (Batteau, Klein, Peyroux) – 5:28
"Homeless Happiness" (Coryell, Peyroux) – 3:59
"To Love You All Over Again" (Batteau, Peyroux) – 3:59
"I Must Be Saved" (Peyroux) – 4:45
"Somethin' Grand" (Klein, Sean Wayland, Peyroux) – 3:44

Personnel

Madeleine Peyroux – vocals, acoustic guitar
Dean Parks – electric guitar
Jim Beard – piano
Larry Goldings – Hammond and Estey organ (on all tracks exc. 6, 8, 9)
Larry Klein – bass
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums, percussion
Carla Kihlstedt – violin (on tracks 4, 5, 7, 9, 11), trumpet and Nyckelharpa (7)
Luciana Souza and Rebecca Pidgeon – backing vocals (on track 5)

Charts

Weekly charts[edit]

Weekly chart performance for *Bare Bones*
Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	64
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[11]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[12]	42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[13]	49
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[14]	40
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[15]	33
French Albums (SNEP)^[16]	18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[17]	75
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[18]	70
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[19]	36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[20]	28
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[21]	15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[22]	39
Swedish Jazz Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[23]	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[24]	46
UK Albums (OCC)^[25]	12
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC)^[26]	1
US Billboard 200^[27]	71
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[28]	1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)^[29]	12
US Traditional Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[30]	1

Year-end charts[edit]

2009 year-end chart performance for *Bare Bones*
Chart (2009)	Position
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[31]	13
French Albums (SNEP)^[32]	193
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[33]	15

2010 year-end chart performance for *Bare Bones*
Chart (2010)	Position
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[34]	24

References

^ AllMusic Review
^ "Slant Review". Slantmagazine.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
^ Neil Spencer (March 15, 2009). "The Guardian Review". London: Guardian. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
^ Cohen, Jonathan (December 1, 2008). "Peyroux Goes 'Bare' On New Album". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
^ "Madeleine Peyroux, 'Bare Bones'". The Boston Globe. March 9, 2009.
^ CHARLES J. GANS Associated Press 2009-03-13 08:03 AM (March 13, 2009). "Madeleine Peyroux focuses on songwriting on new CD - Taiwan News Online". Etaiwannews.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Tres voces femeninas en busca de su lugar en el jazz - 15.03.2009 - lanacion.com". Lanacion.com.ar. March 15, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
^ "MADELEINE PEYROUX BARE BONES JAPAN BONUS TRACK CD NEW | eBay". cgi.ebay.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Gans, Charles J. (March 22, 2009). "Madeleine Peyroux creates own identity as a songwriter". The Seattle Times.
^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 30th March 2009" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 996. March 30, 2009. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums – Week Commencing 16th March 2009" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 994. March 16, 2009. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Ultratop.be – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Ultratop.be – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Lescharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Madeleine Peyroux". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Italiancharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Charts.nz – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Spanishcharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "Veckolista Jazz, vecka 14, 2009" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones". 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 (Top Tastemaker 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 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Tops de l'année | Top Albums 2009" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ "ARIA Top 20 Jazz & Blues Albums for 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 28, 2023.

v t e Madeleine Peyroux
Albums	Dreamland Got You on My Mind Careless Love Half the Perfect World Bare Bones Standing on the Rooftop The Blue Room
Singles	Don't Wait Too Long Dance Me to the End of Love I'm All Right All I Need is a Little Bit Once in a While You Can't Do Me Instead
Other songs	Walkin' After Midnight I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter La Vie en rose Lovesick Blues You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go Weary Blues Careless Love Summer Wind Smile J'ai Deux Amours
Related people	The Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band William Galison Larry Klein Rounder Records