Jukebox

Performer: Cat Power
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Cat Power: Chan Marshall (vocals); Judah Bauer (guitar); Gregg Foreman (piano); Erik Paparazzi (bass guitar); Jim White (drums). Additional personnel: Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Matt Sweeney (guitar); Dylan Willemsa (viola); Spooner Oldham (organ); Larry McDonald (percussion). After establishing herself on the 2007 Matador-released album THE GREATEST as the indie world's answer to Norah Jones, Cat Power's Chan Marshall returned to the format of 2000's THE COVERS ALBUM for JUKEBOX, tackling tracks made famous by Hank Williams ("Ramblin' (Wo)man"), Bob Dylan ("I Believe in You"), James Brown ("Lost Someone"), and Frank Sinatra ("New York"), among many others. Marshall proved herself a unique interpreter on THE COVERS ALBUM, deftly folding a diverse set of songs into her own dark, dreamy sonic world. She expertly stays the course on JUKEBOX, sublimating the masculine bravado of songs by these artists into her own muscular yet decidedly feminine musical template. JUKEBOX contains only one new Cat Power composition ("Song to Bobby"), but the many facets of Marshall are on full display here. And though the soul influence of THE GREATEST appears only fleetingly, it makes for what is perhaps the album's best performance, "Woman Left Lonely," a song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham and made famous by Janis Joplin. The track finds Marshall offering her audience, as she did on THE GREATEST, a glimpse of her raw vulnerability stripped bare of any arty concessions to the tortured psyche by which she defined herself for so many years. Eight years is a long time in almost any artist's career, but in Cat Power's case, it's an even more sizable gulf, as Chan Marshall's collections of other people's songs reflect. Released in 2000, The Covers Record found her becoming an ever more nuanced performer, tempering the rawness and intensity of her earlier albums with a lighter approach. Arriving in 2008, Jukebox reaffirms what a polished artist she's become, especially since her Memphis soul homage The Greatest. But where The Greatest sometimes bordered on slick, Jukebox's blend of country, soul, blues, and jazz feels lived-in and natural. Marshall recorded this set with her touring act, the Dirty Delta Blues Band, featuring some of indie rock's finest players, including her longtime drummer, the Dirty Three's Jim White -- who gives even the quietest moments vitality -- as well as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's Judah Bauer and Chavez's Matt Sweeney, so it's not surprising that the album often plays like an especially well-recorded concert. However, some of the session legends she worked with on The Greatest make guest appearances, including Teenie Hodges and Spooner Oldham. Oldham's song for Janis Joplin, "A Woman Left Lonely," appears here, and the original's sophisticated yet earthy sound is one of the album's biggest influences. As on The Covers Record, Marshall makes bold choices. She citifies Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man" (switched to "Ramblin' [Wo]Man" here), turning it slinky and smoky with spacious drums and rippling Rhodes; despite the very different surroundings, the song's desperate loneliness remains. Joni Mitchell's icily beautiful "Blue" gets a thaw and a late-night feel that are completely different but just as compelling. Not all of Jukebox's transformations are this successful: Marshall's penchant for turning formerly brash songs brooding (like The Covers Record's "Satisfaction") sounds too predictable on Frank Sinatra's "New York." And, while the choice to change James Brown's "I Lost Someone" from searing and pleading to languid was brave, the results fall flat. One of the most drastic remakes is Marshall's own Moon Pix track "Metal Heart," which adds more drama and dynamics to one of her prettiest melodies. While the way this version swings from aching verses to cathartic choruses works, the subtlety and simplicity of the original are missed. Indeed, many of Jukebox's best moments are the simplest. Marshall's reworking of the Highwaymen's 1990 hit "Silver Stallion" frees the song from its dated production, replacing it with acoustic guitar and pedal steel that impart a timeless, restless beauty. She pays Bob Dylan homage with a gritty, defiant, yet reverent take on "I Believe in You" from his 1978 Christian album Slow Train Coming and "Song to Bobby," Jukebox's lone new track, dedicated to and inspired by Dylan so thoroughly that she borrows his trademark cadences without sounding like an impersonation. Uneven as it may be, Jukebox is still a worthwhile portrait of Chan Marshall's artistry. ~ Heather Phares

Rolling Stone (p.62) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "She refashions material from other artists and makes it seem like it's been hers all along." Spin (p.p.95) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "She's unafraid to be unfaithful and that's JUKEBOX's greatest strength....With Dylan acting as a bridge between the covers and her originals, Marshall finds intriguing new shadows to stalk." Entertainment Weekly (p.70) - "Best of all is Marshall's redo of her own 'Metal Heart,' a hushed fugue from '98 that's been spurred into full bloom as a fiery rocker." -- Grade: B+ Uncut (p.80) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he music does get swampy and dark, but the atavistic urgings of the group are held in check by the gentle clarity of Marshall's voice." Alternative Press (p.114) - 3 stars out of 5 -- JUKEBOX begins to mesmerize when Billie Holiday's 'Don't Explain' gets a Spartan, darklands-country overhaul, and Joni Mitchell's 'Blue' seems beamed in from a Holiday Inn lounge run by David Lynch." No Depression (p.71) - "Marshall has an extraordinary voice....JUKEBOX is comprised of vast, arid patches of affect broken up by occasional tiny outbursts of emotion." Q (Magazine) (p.91) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]er most polished record to date....It still catches the light and the imagination." Blender (Magazine) (p.96) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Marshall works subtly. She revels in sly, unexpected phrasing, flickers in an out of hope like a candle and turns meanings inside out with a single, haunting phrase..." Harp (magazine) (pp.91-92) - "[S]he's accompanied throughout JUKEBOX by her stellar Dirty Delta Blues touring band..." Clash (magazine) (p.107) - "'Song To Bobby' is a touching reflection on the writers who have changed her life, a suitable tribute from one major talent to another." Record Collector (magazine) (p.87) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Amusingly, she opens with a self-referential take on the ultimate cover, 'New York, New York,' which, almost incredibly, finds new life in the tired old words."

Indie singer-songwriter Chan Marshall somewhat reluctantly began recording under the name Cat Power in the mid-1990s. Often withdrawn and always unapologetically eccentric, Marshall nonetheless managed to win over a steadily growing following, thanks to her distinct, emotive voice and simple yet potent songs. A penchant for erratic live performances enhanced Marshall's intriguing persona, while her lo-fi, folk-based music itself garnered increasing acclaim. In 2006, Marshall went public with her struggle with alcohol and drug abuse, which only endeared her further to her fans, and she released what may be her strongest and most critically and popularly respected album, THE GREATEST.

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