Customer Reviews

Jukebox - Deluxe Edition

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

That's right indie kids, Chan is less depressed and therefore able to express a greater range of emotion, in music that will likely appeal to more people. And that, of course, makes the music inferior to stuff that only you and your hipster friends appreciate--I mean, what the hell's the point of listening to something that doesn't make you feel like the coolest kids in the dorm? Alright, enough sarcasm. This may be Cat Power's best album yet, with its trippy tortured version of "Blue" and the original "Song for Bobby" which just might have Mr. Zimmerman seeking a restraining order. The real point of this review, however, is to point out that the songs on the bonus disc in the Deluxe Edition are NOT the usual "bonus" crap that was rightfully left off of (or not even considered for) the actual album. So, it's the one to get, especially considering that, last time I looked, the Deluxe Edition was actually selling at a lower price than the non-deluxe version (and even if that's changed, it's worth whatever extra couple of bucks makes up the difference).

I first saw Cat Power in the Fall of 1996 in a small, half-filled, smokey now-defunct nightclub in Seattle that was owned by Peter Buck of REM's ex-wife. She played an insecure and frightened and very moving set of tracks from her first record, "What Would the Community Think?" She spoke very little to the audience, and looked a little bit like she was performing on the Moon. In fact, the whole show sort of felt that way. Fortunately she still managed to display her talents that evening, and as a number of us lined up to purchase the CD following the show, there was unanimous agreement that this girl had potential. Twelve years later, its remarkable to note the transformation which has occured with this artist. Cat Power has ridden her remarkable talent, and unique perspective on life right to the top of the game. And while the acclaimed "Greatest" was clearly indicative of the hard-earned courage and masterfulness finally possessed by the singer-songwriter adopted from NYC's indie rock scene into the Adult-Oriented Album radio format, "Jukebox" makes a more powerful statement. On this, her latest album focused mainly on covers of her favorite influences, Cat Power reaches a level better described as devestating. One is prone to smiling on your first couple listens as she works her magic into your heart as usual, only this time, not so much asking you to welcome it, but ramming it into you. She demonstrates an impressive culmination of fortitude and soul that arrives best through the type of battle-scarred experience that she has had. A veritable music warrior for years, Cat Power is now an all-star working her way toward the hall-of-fame. PS - the best 2 tracks may even be her own "Metal Heart" and "Song to Bobby." Get it and get ready to love it.

The album to compare this to is her first covers album The Covers Record; that was from 2000, and the young singer has grown and changed a lot since then. Her stunningly stark, almost gothic (but spare) setting of some familiar and lesser known songs was raw and powerful then. Now she's working with experienced musicians, and is more experienced herself, and the sound is warmer, more assured, more rock and blues oriented. I like the new disc fine, but only a few tracks really stand out: a new version of "Metal Heart" that is moody and acoustic, and her love song to Aretha Franklin, whom you can really cite as an influence on her current retro-rock sound. Chan Marshall is feeling her Southern Soul roots.

The point of this review, however, is to say that if you're a fan of her earlier albums, be sure you get this deluxe version with the extra E.P., because it's actually better than the main album. Here you find the Patsy Cline classic "She's Got You," but Chan's delivery makes even Patsy's version sound happy in comparison, plus an epic and meandering and devastating version of "Angelitos Negros." The EP has an overall downbeat vibe that recalls the stripped down and minimal Cat Power of old.

Following up The Greatest - which by many accounts was just that for her - Chan Marshall apparently turned to her iPod for inspiration. Where else would you find the songs ranging from Nick Cave to Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan to Billie Holiday? However instead of the almost painfully spare production of 2000's Covers, this one is fully fleshed out with the likes of Spooner Oldham and Larry McDonald making guest appearances in addition to the several of the musicians who added so much to the musical landscape of her previous outing. Nonetheless, even given the talented players manning the hardware, it's Marshall's voice - powerful, harsh, and yet amazingly tender - that's the star of this show. That same voice gives her the courage to take "New York" and if not own it outright, at least gain some level of joint custody. Perhaps the pinnacle of this successful album is her interpretation of Dylan's "I Believe in You." Much like her outstanding rendition of "Stuck inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" from the I'm Not There soundtrack, Marshall imbues a gorgeous Bob Dylan cut from her "born-again" days with a new life all its own. This album may not be The Greatest, but it's pretty damn close.

Chan Marshall wins again! Cat Power first came to my attention in 2006 with the release of "The Greatest"... and believe me I really felt "The Greatest" was the greatest. Now comes "Jukebox" and again Chan Marshall is won me over.

"Jukebox" is what I call jazz and blues for today's generation of music lovers. This album is dark and downbeat with shimmering pulses of excitement. From beginning to end each song captures you and keeps you listening.

The album opens with a understated yet vaguely bombastic cover of "New York, New York" which Chan calls "New York". Her voice is soothing as she sings "start spreading the news". This is "NY,NY" like I've never heard it before. While others merely have copied the original, Chan takes the song and gives it a new life and makes it completely her own.


Ramblin' (Wo)man" is Chan's take on Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man" again she wins and makes even this classic her own.

Chan Marshall's voice, as understated as it is, has a great presence. Vocally Chan is not in the league as singers such as Nina Simone, Karen Carpenter, Annie Lennox or Aretha Franklin, though Chan possesses a charm all her own. She has her own sound and style which is inimitable and for that alone Chan is one of today's greatest vocal stylists. Her voice carries a gruff yet smooth melancholic confidence. She has a raw intimacy that nobody else on today's music scene can quite match.

At this early stage my favorite track is "Don't Explain" which has long been a Billie Holiday classic. Chan takes this blues staple and completely turns it around while retaining the song's underlying mournful blues feel. Chan's performance of this song, unique as it is, is every bit as effective as Billie Holiday's. Billie had her style and Chan has her own way of presenting jazz and blues to a society of music listeners waiting for something new and freshly exciting. Cat Power (Chan Marshall) fills the bill and succeeds.

I can honestly admit that Chan Marshall has one of those voices that you can listen to all day regardless of the style or subject matter of the music at hand. She could do a cover album of all Wesley Willis and it would still be solid, so on her new and second album of covers, Jukebox, Marshall reinterprets songs from great vocalists that have influenced her over the years. The list of artists that she tackles is impressive and includes Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Hank Williams and even herself on "Metal Heart" from the Moon Pix (1998) album. All of the songs are a great listen because Chan Marshall has the talent and vocal strength of anyone out there. This is a fantastic album overall. Highly recommend.

The cover version has unfortunately become much maligned over the years. Whereas bands were once judged by how well they could perform certain blues, R&B, Lennon/McCartney or Dylan songs and could gain kudos from picking up early on an up and coming songwriting talent, the rise of the singer/songwriter (and the extra profits from the publishing royalties) has meant the proliferation of home-grown material to the near total exclusion of pre-existing songs.

Thankfully, Cat Power, though with a proven pedigree as an accomplished songwriter, notably on her previous album of original songs The Greatest, has always peppered her live appearances and recording sessions with songs that she has felt a connection with, regardless of who wrote them, and began a whole album of them a decade ago, The Covers Record, released in 2000.

This album was conceived as a sequel, and was originally going to be called Covers 2 (and still is, on the CD Text of my copy at least). Its final title Jukebox still modestly places the emphasis on the song rather than the singer, but its major difference from The Covers Record, which was mostly Cat Power on her own, is the presence of a band, the Dirty Delta Blues Band, featuring major players including Judah Bauer from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Jim White from the Dirty Three. The sound of the band, fleshed out on some tracks by guests of the calibre of Mabon Hodges (an integral part of The Greatest) and Spooner Oldham, session veterans from Memphis and Muscle Shoals respectively, is not a million miles from that on The Greatest, though there is a deliberate ragged informality in the proceedings here that sets it apart.

It would be quite a jukebox, too, if it featured the versions that inspired Chan, with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Jessie Mae hemphill. Not all the songs were known to me, but favourites such as James Brown's Lost Someone and Joni Mitchell's Blue, a brave choice, become revitalized through her translucent performances. A Woman Left Lonely, too, is wonderful, and as it was written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, that is presumably Spooner that we can hear on it. The shortlist for this album included the Dan Penn-Chips Moman song Dark End Of The Street, and I cannot be alone in thinking how wonderful that must have sounded, and as Spooner Oldham was the pianist on James Carr's original version, it is likely he would have played on that one, also. I'm not familiar with George Jackson's original of Aretha, Sing One For Me, but as it was recorded for Hi Records back in 1972 it is quite likely that Mabon Hodges was the guitarist on it, and it is good to see Chan recognizing and acknowledging the heritage these guys bring to her record.

I don't see Cat Power as a keen follower of rules and regulations, so on this album it is no surprise to find, on this album of covers, two of her own songs. I suppose one of these, Metal Heart, is technically a cover, since she had previously recorded it on Moon Pix. The other, Song To Bobby, an album highlight, neatly follows Dylan's I Believe In You.

This limited edition version contains a bonus disc with five additional tracks, though these do not include Dark End Of The Street or the other dropped title, Fortunate Son. I would suggest grabbing this edition while it is still available.

Not speaking Spanish, some of the charms of Roberta Flack's Angelitos Negros were lost on me, but her versions of Nick Cave's Breathless and Patsy Cline's She's Got You easily match the best cuts of the first disc. The Hot Boys' I Feel is completely reinvented and is the only track to recall The Covers Record, as its only accompaniment is (her own?) piano. Her Moby Grape cover first appeared on The Covers Record, and although the bonus disc is generally less orchestrated than its parent, the restrained arrangement of Naked, If I Want To (the title has gained a comma since its earlier incarnation) demonstrates the distance traveled since the first cover. Where before the only accompaniment was Chan's guitar, now an ensemble of electric guitar, piano, bass and drums rocks along behind her.

A reviewer in (I think) Mojo, wrote of The Covers Record that Cat Power doesn't cover songs, she uncovers them, and despite the less sparse settings of this album this happily remains the case.

I would consider myself a "big fan" of Cat Power's. I enjoy her music. She has the ability to create music originally and a more impressive ability to re-create music originally. Her album, "The Covers Record" is the first showing of this talent. She takes songs that you know and love and she turns them into something completely new and exciting. She did a great job with that album and an equally great job with this one. I recommend that you buy both albums as well as her original works.

My previous exposure to Cat Power was limited to hearing her Dylan cover on the "I'm Not There" soundtrack, but that provided all the incentive I needed to buy this excellent album. Just imagine the music that could have resulted if Dusty Springfield had been in Memphis with the Rolling Stones of 1969-1972. I'm guessing it would have sounded a little bit like "Jukebox." This is a marvelously smoky, sexy soul-blues-roots set and a moving homage to her muses (e.g., Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan). Keyboardist Spooner Oldham--whose many credits include backing Dylan during his gospel period--adds a taste of Memphis soul authenticity to an already fine band. Like the finest `60s and `70s albums in your collection, "Jukebox" has a timeless quality, and it will still sound great 30 years from now. I just wish it included the version of "Dark End of the Street" that Wikipedia says Cat Power recorded but left out of the final album!

....but I'm not sure what the proper one is. A "cover" implies doing something that someone else did first. To me, that term is neither negative, nor positive; it's just a statement of fact. Heck, that's all opera singers do, and THEY better not make a number too much their own. Well, I guess these are covers, but Chan Marshall REALLY made them her own; one would have trouble even recognizing some, like "New York", or Joni Mitchell's "Blue". Sounds like a real one star review, doesn't it? But, know what?..........

I like it. Took a couple of listens, but it grows on you. Miss Marshall really does take over these songs, and gives us a very pleasant listening experience. She's not half-bad on her two original compositions, either...

Chan Marshall has a wonderful voice, and benefits from superb back-up. As I said of Sia's "Some People Have Real Problems", it's "quirky", and not for every taste. Still, it's very well done, and you might just like it, too.......