Customer Reviews

Jukebox

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(1)
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Cat Power, aka Chan Marshall, is well past that initial flush of youth, but after giving up the booze and seeming to quell her fragile nerves, the 35-year-old American is enjoying a second coming.

She doesn't simply perform or regurgitate old songs, she adopts them and makes them very much her own.

"Jukebox" is further evidence of this, as she tackles everything from the Sinatra staple "New York, New York" to Joni Mitchell's "Blue" in her own inimitable style.

Just when you thought karaoke had kicked the last signs of life out of 'New York, New York',now simply titled "New York", it opens this record like a long-lost rhythm and blues classic, powered with élan by her Dirty Delta Blues band, who create marvellously fluid musical patterns and an infectious drum groove round which Marshall weaves her ethereal, quietly soulful voice.

Backed by her new collective The Dirty Delta Blues Band, including Dirty Three drummer Jim White and Jon Spencer, Blues Explosion's Judah Bauer, as well as impressive guests like the legendary Spooner Oldham and Al Green guitarist Teenie Hodges, the sound of the album is as warm and authentic as The Greatest.

The pivotal point is her interpretation of Dylan's "I Believe In You" from the days his career took a detour up a Christian cul-de-sac, reshaped into a piece of Keith Richards-inspired raunch.

"Song To Bobby" echoes Dylan's Sixties heyday down to the most subtle vocal inflection and finger shift on the fretboard.

She also updates "Metal Heart", a song first recorded for her 1998 album Moon Pix, haunting it with a brooding vocal and a strangulated guitar motif taking refuge from a Neil Young tune.

Her take on Hank Williams' "Ramblin' (Wo)Man" recalls the laid back grooves of Portishead with swells of slide guitar and skittering beats. While Hank Williams and Billie Holiday might not recognise the versions of "Ramblin' (Wo)Man" and "Don't Explain", you suspect they would wholeheartedly approve, although Janis Joplin might feel second best to a great reworking of "A Woman Left Lonely".

"Silver Stallion" provides one of the album's highlights with a minimal amount of acoustic accompaniment.

Originally recorded by country super-group The Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson) it's an intimate delight.

It is an unsurprising album. It sounds exactly how you'd expect - classic, but not overly well known, songs, like Dylan's "Believe In You", squeezed by the Cat Power sound into tracks that sound like they could feature on The Greatest.

At some points the jacket is a little too tight, and you'd like the songs to come out by themselves a bit more. Witness Chan's cover of "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again'"from the soundtrack to Todd Haynes's Dylan Movie, I'm Not There - it mixes the original's exuberance with Marshall's cloudy vocals, and is all the better for it.

The last track of the album, the title track from Joni Mitchell's magnum opus "Blue", suggests the true nature of this record and, in fact, all cover albums: catharsis.

Seldom is an album of cover versions so brilliantly distanced from the originals. Chan Marshall uses her artistic alter ego Cat Power to reinvent and energise songs originally performed by the biggest artists of the last century.

Whether this album is simply a way of avoiding her own song writing or just having fun exploring the work of others there is no doubting her art and distinct mastery of interpretation. And that in itself warrants high applause.

Standout Tracks : "New York", "Silver Stallion", "Aretha Sing One For Me" and "Song To Bobby".

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.

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.

A limited edition of this CD exists with a second 5-track disc, which you may wish to consider as an alternative.

Cat Power has created another beautiful album. Even though half the album is covers, she makes those songs her own, just like on her Covers Record. If your a Cat Power fan, its a must buy. If your not, its a great introduction to her music and you'll probably end up buying her older albums after hearing this one.

These interpretations are more than covers; every one is transformed into something unique and special. In addition there are two of her own compositions: Song To Bobby and Metal Heart, both great songs. My favorites include Blue (Joni Mitchell) that Chan makes into a torch song, I Believe In You (Bob Dylan), Breathless (Nick Cave), Ramblin' Person (Hank Williams) which sounds different but equally desperate, Noo Yawk (Frank Sinatra) which becomes introspective and Joplin's A Woman Left Lonely which gets a soulful treatment. The familiar is made new again in a blend of blues, country, soul and even a bit of jazz, for a most enjoyable listening experience. If you like this one you'll also enjoy here Covers album.

I can't stop listening to this record. chan did it again.

my favorite track on the record is, undoubtedly, her cover of bob dylan's "I believe in you." she captures it as her own, and, let's face it, it's hard to cover dylan. she does it with ease and grace and some raw rock n' roll.

I adore this record, through and through.

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'm a big fan of Cat Power's other work, including The Greatest, but this album is terribly boring. It's as if she drained all personality out of herself and these songs. I suspect a big problem is the song choices themselves; in contrast to her past covers, these songs are all pretty rambling whining crooners. I have hope that she'll return to greatness, but I'm not optimistic after hearing this.

Jukebox, $[...] Amazon.com, is the latest release from Cat Power. The band is composed of the chestnut-haired beauty Chan Marshall (vocals), and of Judah Bauer (guitar), Jim White (drums), Erik Paparazzi (bass), and Gregg Foreman (piano & organ). Five special guests - Spooner Oldham, Teenie Hodges, Larry McDonald, Dylan Willemsa, and Matt Sweeney - also appear. The ten featured cover songs and two originals on this lux album were captured by Stuart Sikes at Hit Factory in Miami, at Rare Book Room in Brooklyn, and at Sikes Studio in Dallas. `Jukebox' is the first (and probably only) CD that I'll buy in all of 2008.

Understanding the formula behind the cover selections is simple; for example, Kander & Ebb (known chiefly for `Cabaret') wrote `New York, New York,' but everyone associates the song with Frank Sinatra. Therefore, Marshall takes the song and inhabits it with all the conviction of Sinatra, but she deconstructs it, adding her own lyrical flourishes and shorthand, bending it in the process. Not content to stop there, she does the same thing to an old revered Hank Williams song, `Ramblin' (Wo)man,' inverting the gender.

Keeping in mind Marshall authored `Metal Heart' in 1998, it's nice to hear she's retooled it - this jauntier version runs just under 4 minutes, and is more energetic, with piano accompaniment from Gregg Foreman of the Dirty Delta Blues. Marshall contributes one other original song called `Song To Bobby,' to Jukebox. This long track is an ode to Bob Dylan, Chan's musical idol. Granted, there is a sweet nostalgia to the lyrics, but this is actually my least favorite track. (For more info on Bob Dylan, visit [...])

Everyone that I've talked to about this album seems to gravitate to a particular track, and about a dozen of us seem to agree that `Silver Stallion,' clocking in just under 3 minutes, is the standout track most likely to receive radio airplay. The song is credited to Lee Clayton, whose musical career I'm unfortunately not all that familiar with; whoever is playing the slide guitar on this number is truly remarkable though. Marshall's vocals are casual, sly, melancholy, and tender all at once.

Beautiful songs like `Aretha, Sing One For Me,' - an ode to pop singer, rhythm-and-blues singer, and soul singer Aretha Franklin - are perfect for Chan's emotive expressive voice. I took pleasure in the old style intro that launched the song with a drum roll. Marshall follows this with a soulful version of `I Lost Someone,' - a rhythm-and-blues song originally penned by the late great James Brown - that should have also included some horns. Marshall then rescues an old traditional song `Lord, Help The Poor & Needy,' - by Jessie Mae Hemphill - from the public domain.

One of the most inspiring songs on `Jukebox' is the robust inclusion of `I Believe In You,' a somewhat more obscure song from the Bob Dylan discography. The bass on this track is just plain excellent; I also wonder how the track would sound if Chan sang it accompanied solely by a piano. `Don't Explain,' - track ten - is a cover of a legendary Billie Holiday song, and the mournful keyboard playing by Gregg Foreman or Spooner Oldham that accompanies the songbird is a real knockout.

Xtra love and attention were poured into the final two songs on `Jukebox.' `Woman Left Lonely,' is a heartfelt rendition of an old standard (written by Spooner Oldham) that exposes Chan Marshall's emotional landscape. Spooner was kind enough to grace the keyboards on this particular track. `Blue,' is a dour, faithful but melancholy version of the legendary Joni Mitchell song that was made famous back in 1971. Remember, if you buy the deluxe gatefold edition of *Jukebox - you'll get five extra songs on a bonus CD; `I Feel,' `Naked, If I Want To,' `Breathless,' `Angelitos Negros,' and `She's Got You.' It should also be noted that Marshall currently has tracks available on two soundtracks - I'm Not There and Juno.

I bought this at $7.98 at target...very good cd...Chan is one of my favorite chick performers. BUY IT...