CAT POWER
"I still have a flame gun for the cute ones"
What Would The Community Think? (1996)
Rating (Out of 10): 8
Tracklisting: In This Hole/Good Clean Fun/What Would The Community Think/Nude As The News/They Tell Me/Taking People/The Fate Of The Human Carbine/King Rides By/Bathysphere/Water & Air/Enough/The Coat Is Always On
It has always seemed incredibly unfair to me that some artists with little or no talent at all seem to be the ones that gain the most media attention. The ones who shout loudest, proclaiming their own non-existent abilities seem to reap huge rewards while the shy talented geniuses die in obscurity. For every loud mouthed Robbie Williams forcing his terrible songs into everyone’s faces 24 hours a day, there is a Ron Sexsmith writing wonderfully, beautiful songs for a small yet devoted audience. For every Shania Twain warbling painfully and tunelessly, there is a Cat Power producing incredibly understated, folk/country rock albums that comfort and soothe. It may seem like a great injustice, but many of those who fall into the latter category seem to like it that way, and Cat Power is definitely one of those people. Cat Power, aka American singer songwriter Chan (pronounced Shawn) Marshall is an incredibly hardworking, prolific songwriter, releasing 6 albums since 1995, yet the majority of them remain unavailable in the U.K, and very little has been written about her in the music press. But that hasn’t stopped her being very highly regarded by those who are lucky enough to have discovered her music, and gaining herself many high profile celebrity fans.
‘What Would The Community Think’ is Cat Power’s third album and serves well as an introduction to her own unique blend of country folk rock. It is an album that is very heavily blues influenced, and this suits the mood perfectly as it is bleak and minimalist both in style and content. Lyrically, her material is dark and introspective, she tells tales of dysfunctional relationships, self-hatred and depression, giving us a very dark outlook on life and painting a very bleak landscape that is her world. The first thing that grabs you about Cat Power is her voice. It is incredible to listen to, raw and coarse at times, spitting out the lyrics with a hateful venom, yet at other times it is soft and full of emotion. In tracks such as ‘Nude As The News’ her voice is strong with a raw edge making her sound slightly vulnerable, almost desperate at times. There have been comparisons to PJ Harvey, and although this isn’t completely accurate, she does have a similar delivery at times. But in other places she takes a softer approach. ‘King Rides By’ is a beautifully tender track with gentle vocals and soft guitar. ‘Taking People’ is possibly the strongest track on the album, and provides one of only a few upbeat moments in an otherwise dark record. Employing pedal steel guitar very effectively, the track has a country rock feel to it. Another highlight is ‘They Tell Me’. The music is bare and unassuming allowing Chan to wail out her problems in a typical blues style. ‘I pray to the Lord above that I could get some sleep… but the Lord don’t give a shit about me.’
‘What Would The Community Think’ is an album that takes a while to get into. The unrelenting bleakness is quite startling at first, making you feel almost excluded and struggling to find a way in. But there is a beauty there and the emotion is so strong that it’s hard not to be affected by it. So, its best just to sit back and let yourself be taken over by it, and you’ll most probably find yourself singing and crying along to it.
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Moon Pix (1998)
Rating (Out of 10): 8
Tracklisting: American Flag/He Turns Down/No Sense/Say/Metal Heart/Back Of Your Head/Moonshiner/You May Know Him/Colors And The Kids/Cross Bones Style/Peking Saint
When ‘Moon pix’ was released in 1998, two years after her previous offering ‘What Would
The Community Think’, it was widely considered her greatest work to date. It can easily be seen as an extension of the previous album. The tracks have the same sort of style and feel about them; the same bleak atmosphere is there, but there is more of a maturity about the songs on ‘Moon Pix’. Technically, they are some of the best songs she has ever written.
However, it is quite a cold album. It lacks the emotion of her later works, and the harsh sound can make it seems quite inaccessible at times.
However, in saying that, ‘Moon Pix’ demonstrates Marshall’s unique abilities as a singer, songwriter, and musician. The songs are masterpieces. The harsh, unrelenting ‘American Flag’ opens the album leaving you in no doubt about what’s to come. It just yells at you ‘This ain’t no easy listening shit!’ ‘He Turns Down’ with its combination of haunting flute arrangement and raw vocals demonstrates Marshall’s ear for what sounds go well together. ‘No Sense’ sees Marshall return to the dominating pedal steel guitar sound that worked so well in ‘What Would The Community Think?’. ‘Say’ could well be the signature track of the album with it’s background effects of a thunder and lightning storm, really summing up the album’s overall theme.
When listening to this album you are left in doubt that the world of cat power is not a world of hearts and flowers. Instead, it is a world full of question marks, and thunder storms and gum stuck to the sole of your shoe. But it also a world of music, music which challenges and never compromises, music which may not always be the easiest to listen to, but which always rewards.
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Jemima Jane - 17/10/2006
Dig your Cat Power reviews. Really cool. But moon pix is the best one. she never managed to get any better than this. perfection.
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The Covers Record (2000)
Rating (Out of 10): 8
Tracklisting: (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction/Kingsport Town/Troubled Waters/Naked If I Want To/Sweedeedee/In This Hole/I Found A Reason/Wild Is The Wind/Red Apples/Paths Of Victory/Salty Dog/Sea of Love
Releasing an album entirely made up of cover versions is hardly an original idea, with many artists having done the same, usually as a way of attempting to revive their flagging careers and appeal to a wider audience. But Cat Power’s Covers Record takes a different approach entirely. Firstly, in choosing mainly obscure, little-known songs (Satisfaction is probably the only widely known song on the album) she dispels any notion that she is jumping on the bandwagon, seeking recognition that her own tracks wouldn’t afford her. The track selection on this album is extremely eclectic, comprising Rolling Stones, Lou Reid and Bob Dylan classics along side tradition folk songs and 60’s hippie anthems. Yet, despite the variety, the album comes across as a cohesive whole rather than a mere collection of songs. Every track fits well together, seamlessly moving from one to the next, conveying the same overall mood. Each one could be a Cat Power original, all having been written to complement each other. In this way ‘The Covers Record’ vividly displays her ability to take someone else’s song and make it her own, take someone’s else’s words and make them say exactly what SHE wants them to say. Rather than the idea of cover-version as dilution of someone else’s work, Marshall shows how it is possible to bring a different perspective to a track, to add to it and create something breathtakingly beautiful.
Cat Power’s version of ‘Satisfaction’ is barely recognisable as the Rolling Stones Classic, not least because at no point at all does she actually sing ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’. Stripped of the melody, hype and sexuality of the original, Marshall’s version is stark and sparse, and melancholic. With just an acoustic guitar accompaniment, focus is forced onto the lyrics, which sound delicate, reflective and introspective and it’s difficult to imagine this ever having been sung by a pouting, gyrating Mick Jagger. Having already been labelled the female Dylan, it seems inevitable that Marshall should choose two Bob Dylan tracks for this album – Dylan’s’ own track ‘Paths of Victory’ and the traditional folk song made famous by Dylan - Kingsport Town. It’s not hard to see why such comparisons have been made between the two singer-songwriters, and in this album especially, Marshall comes across as a combination of Dylan and Patti Smith, combining Smith’s freedom of delivery with Dylan’s vocal style.
The absolute highlight of the album for me comes in the unlikely form of a cover of an obscure Moby Grape track entitled ‘Naked If I Want To’. I’m not exactly sure who Moby Grape are, and I’d definitely never heard this song before. But this track is amazing. Originally meant as a celebration of freedom, Chan Marshall puts her own unmistakable twist to it. Stripped bare of everything apart from a gentle acoustic guitar accompaniment, it is stark, bare and desolate. Throughout the track she gives one of the best vocal performances of her career, her voice sounding raw, as sharp as a knife’s edge, and with a hint of desperation. The result is amazing. It’s the sound of someone appealing for freedom, for love, for independence, and you just wish you had the power to give it to her.
Another moment of beauty comes in the form of a Velvet Underground track – 'I found a Reason’. Lou Reid’s dark, depressing lyrics fit in exactly into the theme of the album. ‘In This Hole’ sees Marshall revisit one of her own songs. Originally recorded for the album ‘What Would The Community Think?’ Marshall replaces the original bleak, harshness of the steel guitar with the softer sound of a piano, but the mood isn’t anymore cheery, the bleakness merely being replaced by a softer melancholy. In reworking one of her own songs, Marshall shows the importance of rewriting and revision, of revisiting your own material and how its possible to keep changing and perfecting and creating.
On the whole, The Covers Record is a remarkable achievement. Chan Marshall shows her amazing talent as a vocalist, songwriter and performer. Every single track here works perfectly, and she has managed to create a unified theme throughout. The Covers Record works in a very similar way to Johnny Cash’s American Recordings especially in the sense of it being just as stunning and valuable as any of the artists original recordings.
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Marky - London
"Love the version of 'Satisfaction'. It's so totally different from the original and really makes you think about the words. It's made me see the Rolling Stones in a different light. I never saw them as a band that could write such melancholic lyrics. Well done Chan for making me look at things in a different light!"
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You Are Free (2003)
Rating (Out of 10): 9
Tracklisting: I Don’t Blame You/Free/Good Woman/Speak For Me/Werewolf/Fool/He War/Shaking Paper/Baby Doll/Maybe Not/Names/Half Of You/Keep On Runnin’/Evolution
By the time Cat Power’s sixth album was released earlier this year, Chan Marshall had earned herself the title ‘the female Dylan’ in the music press. Now, that’s quite an accolade, and while there may be certain similarities in their vocal styles and prolific song writing abilities, comparisons like that usually do more harm than good with the artist in question being unable to live up to such high expectations. But if anyone is able to give Dylan or any male singer songwriter a run for his money, it is definitely Cat Power. Her latest album ‘You are Free’ displays real growth and maturity as an artist. The style and themes of earlier albums such as ‘What Would The Community Think?’ are still there, but they are presented in a much more sophisticated way. Marshall uses a wide range of diverse instrumentation throughout the album to create a fullness and variety of sound. Tracks such as ‘I Don’t Blame You’ and ‘Names’ are piano dominated, while ‘Good Woman’ and ‘Werewolf’ make effective use of string arrangements, and other songs such as ‘Baby Doll’ rely on gently strummed acoustic guitar. ‘You Are Free’ is a diverse album musically, but it all bonds well together through shared themes and Cat Power’s characteristic folksy style. Lyrically, it is a very personal album that tells tales of childhood friends, broken relationships, identity and the search for personal freedom.
‘You Are Free’ includes guest appearances from Dave Grohl on Drums on ‘Speak For Me’, ‘Shaking Paper’ and ‘He War’, Eddie Vedder on backing vocals on ‘Evolution and ‘Good Woman’ and Bad Seed Warren Ellis on violin on ‘Good Woman’. ‘Good Woman’ is definitely a stand out track with Ellis’ violin, Vedder’s backing vocals and Marshall’s own raw, yet delicate voice all combining to create a beautifully evocative track. ‘Werewolf’ is another high point. A cover of a track by American Folk Singer, Michael Hurley; Marshall adds her own unique style to it, using strings to create an atmospheric, haunting effect. ‘Half Of You’ is a country style ballad which sounds delicate and beautiful, and contains sincere and touching lyrics. There are barely any weak moments at all on this album, with each track being wonderfully written and well performed. ‘You Are Free’ is an amazingly accomplished album, full of understated beauty and emotion and which displays Chan Marshall’s incredible talent for song writing. It is definitely my favourite album released so far this year, but I have a feeling that Cat Power is just going to keep on getting better and better.
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Jude S - New York
"Love this album. Cat Power is an amazing musician. Shame she doesn't get more credit for it. 'You Are Free' shows her versality. She's the female Dylan for sure."
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The Greatest (2006)
Rating (Out of 10): 8
Tracklisting: The Greatest/Living Proof / Lived In Bars /Could We /Empty Shell/Willie /Where Is My Love /The Moon/Islands/After It All/Hate/Love And Communication
On first purchasing Cat Power’s new album ‘The Greatest’, the old adage ‘never judge a book by the cover’, came to mind. Or in this case, never judge a CD by the metallic pink glow in the dark gatefold box with a gold boxing glove on the front. I can see how the boxing glove might be a reference to Mohammed ‘I am the greatest’ Ali, but why metallic pink? Taking the idea of being great and cheapening it? I guess I’ll never know! It has been three years since Chan Marshall’s last release, the glorious ‘You Are Free’, and her new offering doesn’t mark very much of a departure, but then, it didn’t need to. With ‘You Are Free’, Marshall achieved almost perfection and her latest release follows in pretty much the same vein musically, with a mixture of guitar and piano-lead tracks partnered with luscious strings and Chan’s unique vocals. But there is one slight difference in her latest album. ‘The Greatest’ is a very mature, slightly moving and very beautiful album which lacks Marshall’s trade mark desperation. The torture and misery of the likes of ‘What Would The Community Think?’ is definitely missing. True, there is a certain amount of melancholia pervading the album, but there is also a sense of hope, something that is missing from other Cat Power Albums. And this in itself is quite a breakthrough. To suggest that the woman who is renowned for breaking down during concerts, coming on stage too drunk to perform and singing songs that depict a state of utter despair, has finally found happiness is taking it a little too far. ‘The Greatest’ is still very far removed from being an uplifting album, but there is a tiny glimpse of light shining through the gloom, something which is perhaps a first for a Cat Power album.
‘The Greatest’ is definitely Cat Power’s most accessible album to date, but that is not to say that Marshall has compromised. Instead she has come at things from a different direction. And I must say, her new found hope definitely makes for great listening. There is quite a diverse range of tracks, ranging from piano ballads such as the title track, ‘Living Proof’ and ‘Where Is My Love’, to rockier guitar led songs like ‘Could We’ , the quirky ‘After It All’ and the smoky, jazzy type number that is ‘Lived in Bars’.
Listening to ‘The Greatest’, there is no doubt that Chan Marshall is one of the best singer songwriters around today. She is an artist whose talent seems to know no boundaries. Whether playing guitar or piano, singing, writing music and lyrics, and conveying the utter bleakness of the human condition, as well as the hope, she excels every time. With her latest album, Chan will probably gain lots of new fans as well as still managing to please the old ones, something which is quite a feat in itself.
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