Music Review
The Greatest
Cat Power
Chan Marshall, otherwise known as Cat Power has made a career out of sad, beautiful and tormented songs combined with ?I?m about to go off the edge? live performances?jumping off-stage mid-performance and rushing out of the gig is nothing new to her. This tortured singer has garnered critical praise and a strong fan-base because of all this.
The Greatest may just bring her to a wider audience. Recorded in Memphis with a bunch of old school session players whose CVs read like a who?s who of southern soul?Al Green, Booker T and the Mgs plus Aretha Franklin and others, they seem an unlikely bunch to be making music with a no-name white girl signed to Matador Records. But it works surprisingly well?for the most part.
While definitely not a soul record, it does have soul and a swing that is lacking from her other recordings. It doesn?t all work and the ?difficult middle section? of the album feels tired and dreary.
The record is redeemed by the last three tracks, which wouldn?t sound out of place on her earlier records and punch things up on this one. "Hate", the only track that might scare off newcomers while delighting her original fans, is Marshall alone with her guitar, playing stark, cutting riffs, and murmuring "I hate myself and I want to die." "Love and Communication? is a reversal of sorts. Instead of the Memphis crew welcoming Marshall into their world, the closing track sees Marshall luring the studio soul veterans into her dark, claustrophobic world. The strings, horns, and organ push forward in staccato stabs, leaving the old school ?soul pocket? in the gutter.
It seems like a lot of people on alternative radio might pick up on this album?it?s definitely got some radio-friendly stuff on it.
The Greatest may just bring her to a wider audience. Recorded in Memphis with a bunch of old school session players whose CVs read like a who?s who of southern soul?Al Green, Booker T and the Mgs plus Aretha Franklin and others, they seem an unlikely bunch to be making music with a no-name white girl signed to Matador Records. But it works surprisingly well?for the most part.
While definitely not a soul record, it does have soul and a swing that is lacking from her other recordings. It doesn?t all work and the ?difficult middle section? of the album feels tired and dreary.
The record is redeemed by the last three tracks, which wouldn?t sound out of place on her earlier records and punch things up on this one. "Hate", the only track that might scare off newcomers while delighting her original fans, is Marshall alone with her guitar, playing stark, cutting riffs, and murmuring "I hate myself and I want to die." "Love and Communication? is a reversal of sorts. Instead of the Memphis crew welcoming Marshall into their world, the closing track sees Marshall luring the studio soul veterans into her dark, claustrophobic world. The strings, horns, and organ push forward in staccato stabs, leaving the old school ?soul pocket? in the gutter.
It seems like a lot of people on alternative radio might pick up on this album?it?s definitely got some radio-friendly stuff on it.