*****
Cat Power Summons Southern Soul On New CD
By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Cat Power chanteuse Chan Marshall soaks up Memphis soul on her new album, "The Greatest," due Jan. 26 via Matador. The 12-track set was recorded in three days at the city's Ardent Studios and produced by Stuart Sikes, who previously worked with Marshall on her 1996 album "What Would the Community Think."
The artist is surrounded on the set by a who's-who of Memphis session veterans, led by Al Green guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, who plays guitar on all but three tunes. Among the other contributors are bassists Leroy Hodges and David Smith, guitarist Doug Easley, keyboardist Rick Steff, saxophonist Jim Spake and trumpeter Scott Thompson.
Marshall had been playing some of these songs live before the sessions, but as Sikes tells Billboard.com, "I don't think she had any idea how they were going to turn out. When they got to the studio, she played them the song and they charted it out and then just played it. Most of it was done by the first, second or third take."
And while Marshall has become notorious for her erratic live performances and shy demeanor, Sikes says the musicians quickly set her at ease. "The first day, I know she was pretty nervous walking into a room full of these guys who have been on a gazillion records," he says. "But all those guys are amazingly nice. All they wanted was to make her comfortable."
"The Greatest" is highlighted by such jaunty soul-infused tracks as "Could We" and the organ-tinged first single "Living Proof" and emotional numbers with a country bent like "Lived in Bars" and "Empty Shell" (sample lyric: "All that's left of my heart is an empty shell / it's crushed").
The songs "Where Is My Love" and "Hate" return Marshall to the ultra-sparse musical backdrops of her early work; the first a drum-less lament with piano and strings and the latter featuring just Marshall and a repeated three-chord electric guitar figure.
Marshall will begin a solo tour tonight (Oct. 12) in Oberlin, Ohio, but is planning to mount a number of high-profile shows with the Memphis backing band around the new album's release.
"The Greatest" is the follow-up to 2003's "You Are Free," which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and has sold 131,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Here is the track list for "The Greatest":
"The Greatest"
"Could We"
"Lived in Bars"
"Islands"
"After It All"
"The Moon"
"Living Proof"
"Empty Shell"
"Willie"
"Where Is My Love"
"Hate"
"Love & Communication"
3 comments:
Just wanted to let you know I got the new Jamie Cullum album, and it's all because of that High and Dry song from your E3 mix. I really love his lounge sound, because I can just leave it on and read, study, or do whatever, and it just sounds great in the background. How do you like it?
I LOVE it. It's just as good as his first, if not better. Some of the covers aren't as well known, but I like that he isn't trying to redo "The Killers" or anything. The cover of The Doves song is fantastic.
I'm glad I turned you onto him...I guess I should go out and buy a DDR Mat in return?! :P
Yes! A DDR mat you must buy. This is what you require.
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