The Best Of Madeleine Peyroux (Madeleine Peyroux) | 4/5

SINGAPORE - In another time and space, I would be married to Madeleine Peyroux, we would have a handful of kids and we would sit every evening listening to Mum singing gently to us on the porch of our rural ranch. In reality, I will have to make do with this Best Of album ... and I’ll tell you it comes a close second.

Neither jazz nor folk, nor possible to really label at all, Peyroux’s music is best described in one word: Gorgeous. Highlights of this double-album compilation are her tender treatment of the Edith Piaf standard La Vie en Rose, a song often covered and often butchered. Peyroux handles it with the respect and care it deserves. An interesting addition to the album is another cover, Guilty by Randy Newman, which the chanteuse has stripped back and re-built for another era, showing the breadth of her talent. And this is what this album is: A genuine showcase of a remarkable songstress, who seamlessly blends the outstanding and the everyday to come up with a “best of” that stands out as exactly what is says on the front. For her fans around the world , it is fair to say this collection comes not a moment to late.