Madeleine Peyroux - Dreamland (2005, Japan)

Madeleine's impressive skill as a songwriter emerges on her three Dreamland originals: "Always a Use"; "Hey Sweet Man," a Dobro/vocal piece written on a Paris subway; and "Dreamland" which she wrote shortly after leaving the busking life. "It was the beginning of 1993 and I had a lot of things on my mind," says Madeleine of the album's bright, hopeful title track. "One way of making progress towards getting myself together was to write that song." With a timeless, dark, haunting voice that seems to find comfort in the garments of melancholy, the singer/songwriter/guitarist now makes her Atlantic Records debut with Dreamland.