To review “Jukebox” Cat power’s recently released LP (spiritual successor to “Covers” circa 2000) one must be prepared for change. Gone is the self conscious girl, dowdy and minimal while defiantly standing on stage with her hair in her face and a clear distaste for polish or manufactured ascetic. We are now listening to a vocalist. A vocalist in the same vein perhaps as many female performers that have come before her, and there is my bone to pick.
Cat Power for better or worse was something of a unicorn. Beautiful, soulful, wholly unique and uncompromising. For many of us who weathered her earlier concert years, this became something we wore as a badge. We didn’t want to go and watch an entertainer. We wanted something we could perceive to be real and rough around the edges with an honest beauty. Chan Marshall provided this aesthetic perfectly. We drew lines in the sand and stood by her even when her fair weather fans walked out due to seeming intoxication of our heroine. We not only tolerated it but we began to like it. Like a bad relationship however, even if you grow to accept and like your partners problems, there are still no guarantees.
Que the new Chan Marshall. Seemingly sober and full of wisdom and professionalism. This new woman who we were given hints of during 2006’s “Greatest” is prepared to embrace her craft as a business person. Jukebox is full of competent singing. In fact the musical quality is the records strongest suit. All songs are recorded with laser perfection. All musicians involved can listen to the record and think to themselves “this is just right“. So why do I sound so distrustful? Two reasons, this seems to be a complete 180 in contrast to her earlier works and this record only brings one new song to the table.
It’s a covers record. It’s full of songs that have all (except one) had a moment in the sun, including Chan’s own song Metal Heart. But remember this is Cat Power the vocalist and to a much diminished degree a creative artist. Maybe it would even feel different if she were covering something a bit more obscure and less obvious. These songs don’t need Chan to shine, all they need is a good producer and a good voice. It begs the question, if no one knew this was a “Cat Power” record, would it generate any attention on it’s own?
I have to admit that because I have a preconceived notion of what Cat Power is, I’m predisposed to react more strongly to either give her credit or condemn her for making a record more suited to the musical palette of my older sisters. But in the end the record is a simple pink fluffy cloud. It’s fun for a listen but ultimately leaves me shrugging my shoulders and thinking of records with more depth. I.E. Dear Chan Marshall, Please don’t cover yourself again. I’m glad that you’ve grown as a person and are having fun singing old standards, but re-recording your own material is something that should be left to people who have run out of things to say. I hope thats not the case with you.
Love (and communication),
Bradley
P.S. How come bloggers aren’t allowed to post anything from your new record?
