Customer Reviews

You Are Free

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Chan Marshall has finally managed to combine the soft coziness of 'Moon Pix' with the raw emotion of 'What Will The Community Think', & the result is unbelievable lovely.

'You Are Free' is crafty, melodic, layered, painful, beautiful & inspired. Its' quiet spaces give way to angry lamentations that manage to flow together seamlessly.

If you're into early PJ Harvey (esp. her demo work) the Cowboy Junkies 'Whites Off Earth Now' album, Edith Frost, or Patty Griffin's first album- then this is an absolute must!

Anyone who can sing, "turn out the lights, set yourself on fire, say goodnight," & make it sound sexy & like a piece of freedom, deserves attention.

Highly, Highly recommended!

I've really come to love this album, though I'll confess it was slow to grow on me. For once thing, if you are in the mood for something upbeat and energetic, this isn't going to be your album. It is quiet, somber, reflective, minimalistic. There are albums that have gripped me on a first hearing, but more often than not they tend to fade in appeal as time goes by. This is a "difficult" album, but once you penetrate the apparent lack of diversity and instead the come to appreciate the subtle variations from one song to another, it can possess at a far deeper level than more accessible but ultimately more superficial ones.

This is music stripped down to essentials. I have been alternatively listening to this and a superb Teenage Fan Club album, and while I love both, the differences between the two couldn't be starker. Teenage Fan Club hates empty space, to the extent of layering sound upon sound to produce a many layered, astonishingly dense result. Chan Marshall, the artist who is Cat Power, not only is comfortable with silence within the music, she seems to quietly cultivate it. Her songs are filled with spaces, and adds in new strands of sound only hesitatingly. If a piano, a single guitar, and a backing vocal get the job done, why add in drums or bass? Or even get rid of the guitar or piano. The only way for the album to get any sparser would be for Marshall to sing the whole thing a capella. The effect of all this is to focus all the attention on the lyrics and the emotions Marshall is evoking. The result sometimes feels almost more like confessional therapy than music, an attempt to put raw emotional experience into a form in which it can be confronted and absorbed.

I couldn't recommend this album more strongly for listeners who are patient and comfortable with subtle music that reveals its treasures only slowly.

This year in music has been pretty boring so far. Nothing worth getting excited about has come out...and that's why it is all the more relieving that Chan Marshall just released the best work of her career with "You Are Free."

The album's opener, "I Don't Blame You," leads one to believe that Marshall is content with continuing along her same old path: it is a slow, piano-driven number reminiscent of the entire Cat Power back catalogue.

Though the song treads previously explored territory, it is already apparent that Marshall is on top of her songwriting game. The somber mood and the light hooks are executed perfectly.

But when "Free" chimes in after the brief moment of silence in between tracks, you realize Marshall has some new tricks up her sleeve. It makes use of a simple guitar part that is looped throughout its entirety. However, "Free" is so well written that it never gets boring. Different textures and vocals interchange seamlessly to produce a fresh, lively song. It rocks.

Marshall showed she was more than capable of breathing her own life into songs penned by other artists with her 2000 release, "The Covers Record." She chose to include two cover songs on "You Are Free" with country artist Michael Hurley's "Werewolf" and blues legend John Lee Hooker's "Keep on Runnin' (Crawlin' Black Spider)."

The covers work very well within the context of Marshall's own work; they never really feel like they could have been written by anyone but her. "Werewolf" is especially convincing with its string-tinged, haunting persona.

Marshall flexes her songwriting muscle time and time again throughout "You Are Free." The middle section of the album continues to explore new territory. This is all embodied by the album's best track (believe me, it was hard to pick just one), "He War," which is an outstanding guitar-driven rocker that manages to be haunting and menacing at the same time.

"Maybe Not," the tenth track, ushers in a retreat back to the piano, and it's a gorgeous tune. The last few tracks of the album follow in the same somber vein, but they all sound fresh and exciting given the context of the rest of the album-and it doesn't hurt that Marshall has become one of the best songwriters alive today.

If Chan Marshall continues to make albums like "You Are Free," then she will be establish herself in the same league as the classic singer-songwriters Carole King, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, et al. Quite simply, this is the best album that has been released this year, and it will be nearly impossible for it not to remain among the top releases of 2003.

This CD is definitely in the running for my favorite album of all time. Every song on it is beautiful and I find new things no matter how many times I hear it. It goes with every mood I have.

I didn't put this in and instantly adore it, but it's grown on me over the past several months. It's the sort of CD that seems like background music but then you discover how deep it goes. Don't expect stunning vocals (i.e. Kate Bush) but do expect to be blown away by the intensity of raw emotion. This is an excellent example of treasure buried deep- worth the effort.

It is never entirely certain what Chan Marshall ("Cat Power") is singing about, even on the songs she "covers" (rather, deconstructs entirely, picking and choosing amongst the lyrics until they are some sort of found art almost unrecognizable to the original author). This album is probably her best, where she dumped the last vestiges of her punk-ish early music and went straight minimalist melancholy, without the ornations that hide the bones of The Greatest. She never has drums where a few chords will do. She never has chords where a single note would do. The only constant is her smoky voice, singing enigmatic lyrics that often obscure more than inform.

The result is hauntingly beautiful, like the Southern landscape from which Chan came, with the exception of "Names" which is simply chilling. Is any of it true? Does it really matter? When she sings "we can all be free/maybe not with words/maybe not with a look/but with your mind", does she believe it, or is she being ironic? It's never entirely clear what Chan's up to, but it is an experience that stands repeated listening well.

Many consider that art and on further analysis music is the ultimate expression of one's soul and heart and for that reason alone , no other has the right to judge it . In modern music reality though , where sales are often considered more important not only by record labels but by the artists themeselfs , cd releases can and should be subjected to fair critisism . Cat Power's " You're Free " though sounds so personal in parts that it feels unfair to reject it .

The key element behind it's magic is Chan Marshall's voice . It's difficult to actually explain the whole experience with words . It's just something so intimate , like your best friend calling in tears asking you to ...well , listen . As a songwritter though , she still has a big road ahead of her . Her short guitar and pianno themes repeat themselfs over and over and in many cases ( " Evolution " , " Maybe Not " ) the result would almost be irritating if it wasn't for her fragile perfomances combined with the most haunting backing vocals i ever heard in my life . Only the sweet panic of " He War " seems to have legs of it's own .

In concusion , Cat Power is undeniably a gifted artist . She can sing about a cake recipe and make it sound the most heartfelt thing ever recorded . Her presence in today's female music scene is surely interesting . Still , with some stronger , more complex melodies in the future she could make miracles happen .

Ok. Let's get this out of the way first: I love Cat Power. Chan Marshall is one of my favorite musicians, second only to Polly Harvey. And yes, this is a great record, one of the year's best. But it is not the best Cat Power album. "Moon Pix" is still the best and I doubt she will ever be able to top the sheer beauty of that record. Ok. Like, I said this is a great record, and even features some of the best songs that Chan has ever done. "He War" is one hell of a composition and "Baby Doll" features some of the most lucid lyrics she's ever written. Cat Power has always been one of the best bands around and I'm glad that Chan as an artist is finally getting the acclaim and recognition she so rightly deserves. A lot of fuss has been made about Dave Grohl and that guy from Pearl Jam being on this CD. They were fans. They wanted to be a part of it. So what? Personally I like what Chan had to say about it: "No one was supposed to find out. I didn't want anyone interested in the record."

I first became aware of Cat Power music through an interesting woman I met on the internet. She suggested the "You Are Free" CD for the best listen. I looked it up, read a few rather mixed reviews and purchased the CD. It arrived on a Saturday afternoon; I played it that evening. I was feeling weary of the world, somewhat lonely and I was sitting in a dimly-lit room. A half bottle of reasonably good Merlot was by my side and my cat, JR, was napping on the coffee table. I can't think of a better setting in which to first hear this wonderful music.

Cat Power is basically Chan Marshall, who accompanies herself on guitar and piano, plus a small assortment of supporting musicians. Every song on the CD is excellent but I have strong preferences for some. On four of the tracks (Free, Speak for Me, He War and Shaking Paper) Chan is accompanied by a small band and on one track (Evolution) she sings a duet with a very subdued and backgroundish Eddie Vedder. All are first rate and provide variety. The real strength of the album, however, lies with the other nine tracks (I Don't Blame You, Good Woman, Werewolf, Fool, Babydoll, Maybe Not, Names, Half of You and Keep on Runnin'). Here Chan functions essentially as a soloist singing and playing piano or guitar. It might be easy to criticize her as a vocalist, instrumentalist or writer as the music is so simple. However, the melodic combination she presents provides a presence so strong that it feels as if you have a cherished friend in the room playing some wonderful songs just for you. Add to this a masterly arrangment that lightly and elegantly blends little touches of electric guitar, cello, violin and voices and gives a music of astonishing charm, beauty and depth. I have trouble with the lyrics and I listen intently wondering what this wonderful lady is trying to tell me, but then Names cuts right to the bone. Marvelous presentation! So, what are my favorites? That's a difficult choice as they're all so outstanding. As I'm writing this I'd say Good Woman, Werewolf and Babydoll. Perhaps tomorrow it might be Maybe Not, Names and Half Of You. Maybe sometime else, some of the others.

Thank you Chan; It's a exquisite album.

It sounds a little more polished than her previous albums, so maybe a little bit less of the 'indie sound.' Its like what NOFX said about their getting 'too good' to make really punk music anymore. Cat power is similar in that she's lost the roughness that I liked i her earlier stuff, but what she's gained is an even more refined lyrical talent and she uses her beautiful voice even more to her advantage.

Not much to be said about Eddie Vedder's contribution (because you can hardly hear him) but Dave Grohl did a great job on the drums.