Cat Power (Charlyn “Chan” Marshall) has been making music since she dropped out of high school and it’s about time she got her own thread. I guess she is still an indie artist and she makes a style of rock music so I will stick it here.
All of her albums are pretty special; whether you like her most commercial success (last year’s The Greatest), her covers album (which is also very good), maybe her first two albums (which were both recorded on the very same day), the polished You Are Free or maybe my pick, Moon Pix. Either way, all of her albums are great and for someone that knows very little about chord progressions and keys, she’s pretty dang good.
She also has an awesome voice and she often seems to bring something new to conquer on her albums. She is supposed to come out with another covers album early next year and I know we are all looking forward to it.
----- Things could be different but they’re not…
Posts: 5705 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
I have only heard a little of Myra Lee, but haven't heard any of the first, WWTCT, or The Covers Record. Thus, I'm postponing my vote until I can do so informedly.
Originally posted by EricG75: I went with You Are Free, but I also love The Covers Record, and Moon Pix is quite good too. I haven't heard the first three.
I also really like The Covers Record, she did a great job with that one. I think at first people thought that since it was just a covers album that it wasn’t going to be any good but I like it a lot. Matt Sweeney plays some nice guitar on “Salty Dog.” Also, if you like “In This Hole” off the covers album then you should check out What Would the Community Think. That song is a cover of Cat Power’s own song from that album.
----- Things could be different but they’re not…
Posts: 5705 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
Moon Pix is still my favorite, slightly ahead of Myra Lee. I really don't enjoy the direction she has gone since those early records.
_____________________________ Weep to Water the Trees.
"This is my main concern with Obama; what if he has been groomed since childhood to blend in with the zionists and infidels? What if he has been led along by a radical islamic terrorist organization and positioned to become an influential politician?
What if Obama gets into White House and turns out to be some crazy muslim terrorist? What do we do then? We'll be pretty screwed. It could happen." -- by some fucking nutjob
Posts: 1996 | Location: The Noog, TN | Registered: 08 April 2007
I'm unfamiliar with Myra Lee as a whole, but I love Moon Pix (wasn't she like 17 or something when she recorded that one?)--however, I also love The Greatest. It gives me chills. It was the album I listened to during a very, very hard time (I think last Spring?--it's all a bit hazy). It has sentimental value for me. You Are Free kicks ass--I love "He War".
Originally posted by FragileKidA: I think at first people thought that since it was just a covers album that it wasn’t going to be any good but I like it a lot.
I generally don't like covers or tribute albums because artists usually can't improve on the originals, or they end up copying the original, which is kind of silly.
Chan Marshall does a great job of making those songs her own. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "I Found A Reason" are barely recognizable from the Stones and VU originals. It's one of my favorite covers albums ever.
----- I’ll be Ben Gazzara, you’ll be Gena Rowlands.
Posts: 5154 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
I'm new to the lass, but I've given Moon Pix and You Are Free both a listen. I thought Moon Pix was really great after one listen, and You Are Free was really challenging. I imagine after a bunch of listens to them both I'll prefer that one, but for right now I voted Moon Pix, I really like the sound of that one.
The Covers Record is my favourite for the sheer emotion of it. It's a very sad and beautiful album and I like the minimal arrangements which put her awesome voice to the forefront. It's one of the few cover albums I've heard where I think many of her versions are better than the orginal. Moon Pix and You Are Freeare both great. The Greatest is a bit easily listening in comparison to her previous albums. The title track is brilliant, though.
Posts: 146 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 25 April 2006
it's a really tough call between Moon Pix and The Covers Album, both of which are so solid throughout. I'm gonna go with Moon Pix though. I'd rank What Would The Community Think third and You Are Free fourth.
Posts: 75 | Location: Alameda, CA | Registered: 26 March 2007
I would have to disagree. In my mind there's no question that You Are Free is Cat Power's best album. The sheer range of style displayed from song to song is her most eclectic, and every song is amazing!
The Greatest took a while to grow on me, but I would rank it second at this point, followed closely by Moon Pix and then WWTCT.
They're all so wonderful...
Not all those who wander are lost.
Posts: 232 | Location: Portland, OR | Registered: 20 February 2006
