Half the Perfect World

Half the Perfect World
Half the Perfect World
	File:Halftheperfectworld244.jpg
Studio album by Madeleine Peyroux
Released	September 12, 2006
Recorded	April 2006
Genre	Vocal jazz
Length	48:56
Label	Rounder/Universal
Producer	Larry Klein
Madeleine Peyroux chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	StarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg^[1]
ARTISTdirect.com	StarStarStarStarHalf star^[2]
Being There Magazine	StarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg^[3]
The Guardian	StarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg^[4]
JazzPolice.com	(NR)^[5]
Mojo	StarStarStarStarStar^[6]
musicOMH.com	StarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg^[7]
Rolling Stone	StarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg^[8]
inthenews.co.uk	StarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg^[9]

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]

Track listing

"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

Personnel

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)

Carla Kihlstedt – violin
Graeme Jennings – violin
Charith Premawardhana – viola
Sam Bass – cello

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Half the Perfect World*
Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[12]	26
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[13]	1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[14]	42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[15]	41
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[16]	31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[17]	19
French Albums (SNEP)^[18]	15
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[19]	55
Greek Albums (IFPI)^[20]	6
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[21]	15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[22]	25
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[23]	12
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[24]	38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[25]	24
Swedish Jazz Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[26]	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[27]	41
UK Albums (OCC)^[28]	12
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC)^[29]	1
US Billboard 200^[30]	33
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[31]	1
US Traditional Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[32]	1

Year-end charts

2006 year-end chart performance for *Half the Perfect World*
Chart (2006)	Position
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[33]	6
French Albums (SNEP)^[34]	151
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[35]	7

2007 year-end chart performance for *Half the Perfect World*
Chart (2007)	Position
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[36]	10
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)^[37]	9

2008 year-end chart performance for *Half the Perfect World*
Chart (2008)	Position
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[38]	30

2009 year-end chart performance for *Half the Perfect World*
Chart (2009)	Position
Australian Jazz & Blues Albums (ARIA)^[39]	49

Certifications

Certifications for *Half the Perfect World*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[40]	Gold	30,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[41]	2× Platinum	40,000^‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[42]	Gold	7,500^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[43]	Gold	100,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Being There Magazine review Archived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ JazzPolice.com review Archived October 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ musicOMH.com review
^ Rolling Stone review
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ "Australiancharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ "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.
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ "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.
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ "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.
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

[Brown-1] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[Hermann-2] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[3] Being There Magazine review Archived October 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

[Fordham-4] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[5] JazzPolice.com review Archived October 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[Snow-6] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[7] usicOMH.com review

[8] Rolling Stone review

[9] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[Cohen-10] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[11] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[ac_Australia_Madeleine_Peyroux-12] "Australiancharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[13] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[ac_Austria_Madeleine_Peyroux-14] "Austriancharts.at – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_Flanders_Madeleine_Peyroux-15] "Ultratop.be – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_Wallonia_Madeleine_Peyroux-16] "Ultratop.be – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_Netherlands_Madeleine_Peyroux-17] "Dutchcharts.nl – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_France_Madeleine_Peyroux-18] "Lescharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_Germany_Madeleine_Peyroux-19] "Offiziellecharts.de – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[20] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[ac_Italy_Madeleine_Peyroux-21] "Italiancharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_New_Zealand_Madeleine_Peyroux-22] "Charts.nz – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_Scotland_-23] "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 28, 2023.

[ac_Spain_Madeleine_Peyroux-24] "Spanishcharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_Sweden_Madeleine_Peyroux-25] "Swedishcharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[26] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[ac_Switzerland_Madeleine_Peyroux-27] "Swisscharts.com – Madeleine Peyroux – Half the Perfect World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_UK2_-28] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_UKJazz_-29] "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 28, 2023.

[ac_Billboard200_Madeleine_Peyroux-30] "Madeleine Peyroux Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[ac_BillboardJazz_Madeleine_Peyroux-31] "Madeleine Peyroux Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2023.

[32] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[33] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[34] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[35] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[36] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[37] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[38] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[39] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[BrazilMadeleine_PeyrouxHalf_the_Perfect_WorldalbumCertRef-40] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[GermanyMadeleine_PeyrouxHalf_the_Perfect_WorldjazzCertRef-41] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[New_ZealandMadeleine_PeyrouxHalf_the_Perfect_WorldalbumCertRef-42] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[United_KingdomMadeleine_PeyrouxHalf_the_Perfect_WorldalbumCertRef-43] Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

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 Secular Hymns Anthem Let's Walk
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

Half the Perfect World

Contents

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Navigation menu

Half the Perfect World

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Navigation menu

Search