Jukebox - Deluxe Edition | List Price: $18.98
Discount Price: $13.09
|
Binding: Audio CD
Release Date: 2008-01-22
Another great covers disc [Posted on 2008-04-27]
Here's the deal: I just really like her voice. It's one of those voices which I would enjoy even if she were singing the contents of the Boise telephone book. So yeah, I like this CD as I've liked everything she's done. So why 4 stars instead of 5? Just the covers aspect. Cat Power has done, in my view, some wonderful renditions of other people's songs, but covers CDs rarely stand the test of time like a recording of great originals. So one star removed for the "Okay, Cat...enough covers already"
factor. Otherwise, hey....it's Cat Power and it's not the Boise telephone book, so four solid, honest stars.
Sympathy for the cover version + plus [Posted on 2008-05-13]
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.
Jukebox - Deluxe Edition [Posted on 2008-05-31]
A mixed bag of reminiscent vocals of the early 70's brings you back to folk music, back rooms and college pubs at a time of social unrest. I really enjoyed the beats and music.
Cat Power - Jukebox [Posted on 2008-08-12]
Jukebox (2008, Matador) Cat Power's eighth studio album. ****
Chan Marshall has always been an enigma in the music community. Her raspy, deep voice, her strange performance at concerts, etc. Either way, she's had her fair share of brilliant moments and miserable misses, but thankfully Jukebox is a hit.
This is not the first time Marshall has done a covers album. In fact, she was brave enough to tackle "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, a song successfully covered by only one band before her (Devo, in case you're wondering). On Jukebox, Marshall again displays her eclectic taste in music, tearing each song down and giving it a new structure, a new sound, and most importantly, a new view. She opens by covering Frank Sinatra's "New York," with a slow drum easing the song off. It's a brooding affair, certainly Chan's style and a complete opposite of the uplifting version we know from Frank too well. It isn't a bad cover, rather, it's just strange, almost unrecognizeable. It begs the question of why she even bothered to cover it when she could have written her own lyrics. Only a few tracks make you ask that question, as many of these are excellently done, most notably George Jackson's "Aretha, Sing One For Me." The soft keyboards and Hammond organ accompany Marshall's voice, with a soft bouncy and soulful yet eloquent keyboard line.
The same style is applied to James Brown's "Lost Someone," a very risky choice. This cut is more mellow than "Aretha," but Marshall's strutting vocals make it a sincere moment. She also manages to work in a cleverly executed Dylan cut, "I Believe in You." The tempo is slowed and adds an echoing guitar riff. These and all the songs are fairly minimalist, and all are turned into flok, blues, or jazz-leaning renderings. It isn't a perfect way to do things, in fact, cuts like "Metal Heart" could have been left in the studio. I'd be interested to see if Marshall took any clues from Vanilla Fudge's self-titled debut, an album that consisted solely of covers, all brilliantly done. If she hasn't, she might want to brush up on them to see masters in action (Aretha, Sing One For Me, Lost Someone, I Believe in You, Song For Bobby).
-Stephen
www.politicianrock.blogspot.com
Don't Hesitate..Buy This Album Now! [Posted on 2008-09-19]
God this woman can sing...she has one of the most beautiful voices in music today and unlike some other singers (Feist, Jenny Lewis) she actually has the ability to project real pain, sorrow, hope, emotion through her voice.
Chan Marshall is not a blues singer but boy can she sing the blues.
Even though this is an album primarily of covers it feels like a Cat Power album though and through.
Rambling Woman, Silver Stallion and Blue are all stone cold classic covers. They all sound completely different in style and mood but are all memorable.
I listen to this album every couple of days because it puts me in a good space.
I have to say a word about the band that she uses on this album. They do a great job and create some spooky , tripped out sounding southern rock/country/soul music that never overpowers her singing but enhances it.
Count me in the camp of people who prefer Cat Power's new sound.
I love her old stripped down stuff but its gets old. With her new sound, she has proven that she is too talented to be restricted to one style.
Great album. Buy it.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}