There’s an immaculate simplicity about the way Madeleine Peyroux and her two accompanists treat these 10 songs, which she calls secular hymns. With composers ranging from Stephen C Foster to Tom Waits, Willie Dixon to Linton Kwesi Johnson, the only subject they seem to have in common is life itself, but the candour of Peyroux’s approach, the warm intimacy of her voice and the incisive clarity of the arrangements draw them together. Jon Herington (guitar) and Barak Mori (double bass) delicately sketch in the diverse styles, giving them a timeless quality. The whole thing was recorded in one day at St Mary’s Church, Great Milton, Oxfordshire, whose generous acoustic provides the distinctive atmosphere.
