An album of covers should make any listener fear the worst. Most covers are pointless exercises in rehashing someone else's music almost identically, yet without any of the original intent, sentiment and personal investment. One thinks of Jacques Brel's 'Dying Man' and how its various bastardisations down through the years as 'Seasons in the Sun' have all failed to do justice to the Belgian's sombre lament. Even the sight of a some kid barely able to shave thinking he has enough in the bank to take on 'My Way' is very hard to stomach. There are certain songs that you have to earn the right to sing - 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails, which, it would be fair to say, Johnny Cash earned well, although it's one of the few songs he didn't murder in his American Recordings series.
There are certain people who get the point of a cover and the need to bring something else to it. Hendrix's reinvention of Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower' and Jeff Buckley's reading of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' are perhaps two of the most famous cases of a cover breathing new life into a song.
Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, has been down the road of a covers album before. Her 1999 'Covers Record' saw her deconstruct standards by The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground and Nina Simone. It was a beautifully haunting and tasteful collection of reinterpretations. Marshall has always striven to find something new, not only in cover material but her own. Her recent live shows have seen her step into that sphere of re-make, re-model, which has been a key factor of playing live for people like Dylan and Lou Reed for over 30 years now.
Given Marshall's approach to covers, the arrival of 'Jukebox' should not be met with cynicism, but intrigue. 'New York' is no karaoke trip down the Sinatra wannabe path but practically related to the original in lyric and lyric alone. Unlike the 'Covers Record', Marshall has recruited backing band the Dirty Delta Blues for this collection and in turn it sounds just as the band did on tour throughout most of 2007.
2006's 'The Greatest' album saw Cat Power step closer to the mainstream than ever before. Some feared that this would be at the expense of her earlier material, written at a different time emotionally for Marshall, so much so that she may not have wanted to step back into that skin. On 'Jukebox' it's pleasing to see that she is not blanking her past, but giving it the same reinvention that she does with Hank Williams' 'Ramblin' (Wo)man', James Brown's 'Lost Someone' and Joni Mitchell's 'Blue'. Her new rendition of 'Metal Heart', which first featured on her 1998 record 'Moon Pix', is at first more piano-led and merges into a chaotic climax, losing none of the drama of the original recording.
Having seen Cat Power live last summer and hearing some of the material that would end up on 'Jukebox', I recall being very excited by the live version of The Highwaymen's 'Silver Stallion'. The full band arangement is replaced with a more subtle acoustic reading on the album. As good as it is, it fails to live up to how it worked with the band live. The same cannot be said for 'Aretha, Sing One For Me'. With it's southern soul swagger, it's a definite highlight of the record.
Chan Marshall's voice is one of the most distinctive sounds of the last ten years or so. It is the perfect late night companion on 'Lord, Help The Poor and Needy' and 'Don't Explain'. What the hell - It laces with gold anything it sits on top of - just ask Faithless or Handsome Boy Modelling School. But it's difficult to gauge just how essential a covers album should be. Original new song 'Song To Bobby' is a welcome addition and sits well on the collection. It would've perhaps sat even better on 'The Greatest'. A lazy, sun-drenched auto-biographical narrative of a run-in with Bob Dylan, it's a fine hint that Chan Marshall has a lot more to offer. I look forward to the journey.
Tracklist: 1. New York (Frank Sinatra)2. Ramblin’ (Wo)man (Hank Williams)3. Metal Heart (Cat Power *)4. Silver Stallion (The Highwaymen)5. Aretha, Sing One For Me (George Jackson)6. Lost Someone (James Brown)7. Lord, Help The Poor And Needy (Jessie Mae Hemphill)8. I Believe In You (Bob Dylan)9. Song To Bobby (Cat Power **)10. Don’t Explain (Billie Holiday)11. Woman Left Lonely (Janis Joplin)12. Blue (Joni Mitchell)
Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, has been down the road of a covers album before. Her 1999 'Covers Record' saw her deconstruct standards by The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground and Nina Simone. It was a beautifully haunting and tasteful collection of reinterpretations. Marshall has always striven to find something new, not only in cover material but her own. Her recent live shows have seen her step into that sphere of re-make, re-model, which has been a key factor of playing live for people like Dylan and Lou Reed for over 30 years now.
Given Marshall's approach to covers, the arrival of 'Jukebox' should not be met with cynicism, but intrigue. 'New York' is no karaoke trip down the Sinatra wannabe path but practically related to the original in lyric and lyric alone. Unlike the 'Covers Record', Marshall has recruited backing band the Dirty Delta Blues for this collection and in turn it sounds just as the band did on tour throughout most of 2007.
2006's 'The Greatest' album saw Cat Power step closer to the mainstream than ever before. Some feared that this would be at the expense of her earlier material, written at a different time emotionally for Marshall, so much so that she may not have wanted to step back into that skin. On 'Jukebox' it's pleasing to see that she is not blanking her past, but giving it the same reinvention that she does with Hank Williams' 'Ramblin' (Wo)man', James Brown's 'Lost Someone' and Joni Mitchell's 'Blue'. Her new rendition of 'Metal Heart', which first featured on her 1998 record 'Moon Pix', is at first more piano-led and merges into a chaotic climax, losing none of the drama of the original recording.
Having seen Cat Power live last summer and hearing some of the material that would end up on 'Jukebox', I recall being very excited by the live version of The Highwaymen's 'Silver Stallion'. The full band arangement is replaced with a more subtle acoustic reading on the album. As good as it is, it fails to live up to how it worked with the band live. The same cannot be said for 'Aretha, Sing One For Me'. With it's southern soul swagger, it's a definite highlight of the record.
Chan Marshall's voice is one of the most distinctive sounds of the last ten years or so. It is the perfect late night companion on 'Lord, Help The Poor and Needy' and 'Don't Explain'. What the hell - It laces with gold anything it sits on top of - just ask Faithless or Handsome Boy Modelling School. But it's difficult to gauge just how essential a covers album should be. Original new song 'Song To Bobby' is a welcome addition and sits well on the collection. It would've perhaps sat even better on 'The Greatest'. A lazy, sun-drenched auto-biographical narrative of a run-in with Bob Dylan, it's a fine hint that Chan Marshall has a lot more to offer. I look forward to the journey.
Tracklist: 1. New York (Frank Sinatra)2. Ramblin’ (Wo)man (Hank Williams)3. Metal Heart (Cat Power *)4. Silver Stallion (The Highwaymen)5. Aretha, Sing One For Me (George Jackson)6. Lost Someone (James Brown)7. Lord, Help The Poor And Needy (Jessie Mae Hemphill)8. I Believe In You (Bob Dylan)9. Song To Bobby (Cat Power **)10. Don’t Explain (Billie Holiday)11. Woman Left Lonely (Janis Joplin)12. Blue (Joni Mitchell)
* Original can be found on Cat Power's 'Moon Pix' record. A recommended album!
** A brand new Cat Power song never released before.
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