William Galison & Madeleine Peyroux

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Remember Madeleine Peyroux? Sure you do—she came out with a great debut record, Dreamland, back in 1996 and was heralded as the second coming of Billie Holiday. The fact that Peyroux was a 22-year-old white woman from Georgia only added to the media frenzy that surrounded her first effort. She was written up in Time magazine and sold more than 100,000 copies of her record with virtually no radio support. Still don’t remember? Maybe that’s because Peyroux seemed to literally drop off the planet immediately following that initial splash. No more records; no interviews—she was gone, apparently back to her roots as a street busker.

Then, a few years ago, Peyroux started showing up at smaller venues along the East Coast, often accompanied by multi-instrumentalist (and harmonica virtuoso) William Galison. Anyone who caught one of their shows saw (and heard) that Peyroux’s talent was undiminished by time. If anything, she sounded better than ever. And with the quick-on-his-feet Galison by her side, Peyroux seemed to flourish under the spotlight.

Ends up, the duo did more than just tour: they recorded an indie CD in the spring of 2003, which is just now finding it way to the public. (Later this year, Peyroux will release her big-budget Rounder debut, Careless Love).

No matter what Peyroux does from this point on, she’ll be hard-pressed to come up with anything more engaging or charming than her effort with Galison, Got You on My Mind. This hip, yet retro-sounding 11-song CD is an eclectic collection of songs made famous by everyone from Josephine Baker to the Beatles to Stevie Wonder—as well as three originals co-penned by Galison and Peyroux.

From the Les Paul-ish guitar strains of the Al Jolson-penned opener “Back in Your Own Back Yard”—highlighted by Peyroux’s breezy, confident vocal performance—to an updated version of Josephine Baker’s smoldering 1930 hit “J’ai Deux Amours”, there’s a synergy between Galison and Peyroux that’s palpable.

Even more noticeable is that Peyroux’s smoke-and-whiskey vocals seem to have only gotten richer and more flexible with the passing of time. While Dreamland was an impressive debut, Peyroux’s youth came through in many of the songs. Now, while still in her early 30s, Peyroux sings with depth and warmth never heard before, especially on the title track and on Jerome Kerns’ “The Way You Look Tonight”.

The CD, produced by Galison, features an array of talent, including Bob Dylan’s bassist Tony Garnier and Saturday Night Live drummer Sean Pelton. Even Carly Simon gets in on the act, doing the voice of the scorpion on Galison’s witty, woe-is-me number, “Shoulda Known”.

While Peyroux is a known commodity, it is Galison who is the revelation, playing no less than seven instruments throughout the record and proving himself to be a more-than-capable singer in his own right. He plays chromatic harmonica with both restraint and passion, even turning John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” into a subtlety emotive ballad (with only two lines even sung). His “Rag for Madi”—featuring the jazz clarinet of Brad Terry—is delightful in its simplicity.

And that’s a good part of what makes this record so delightful: it’s done with a light touch, both musically and vocally. No dense overdubs, no swirling strings. In fact, many of the performances on Got You on My Mind were first takes, giving the record a crisp, unfettered sound. While Peyroux’s distinctive, bluesy voice doesn’t quite work with a straightforward pop number like “Heaven Help Us All”, it’s a minor misstep in what is an original-sounding, utterly engaging record. And for fans of Ms. Peyroux, totally worth the wait.