Cat Power

This is an awsome EP! I love Chan Marshall and was really disappointed with The Greatest, both the album and the tour. How could they have removed these covers from Jukebox? LOVE LOVE LOVE this EP! So happy to hear her again at her best. :-) Play it again sam!

If you enjoy Cat Power, don't miss out on this EP. It doesn't disappoint...Cat Power rocks. This will be a collector's album.Tops my music list along withArrica Rose and Iron and Wine.

I really dig Cat Power. I also really enjoy her cover albums: The Covers Album and Jukebox. They offer some nice soul takes on some classic songs. My favorite are the ones that weren't soul songs to begin with like "Fortunate Son" which is on this EP. If you like Cat Power and her work, than don't hesitate to pick this up. With all this being said, I really haven't added anything new to the discussion. So let me get to the point: I was pretty bummed when I saw this was a vinyl only relase. I do have a record player but frequently use my iPod. I want to have a portable version of this album. Luckily, it is avalible. If you look on the interenet at various (legal) download sites, this album is avalible for digital purchase. If you look around you'll find it out there.

"Dark End Of The Street" (2008, Matador Records) is a double-10" vinyl offering from Cat Power. The release contains 6 cover versions, which were the excess fat trimmed from Cat Power's early '08 release "Jukebox."

The album kicks off w/the title track, an old soul tune which Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) has given her trademark moody rendition. In addition, "Dark End..." gives makeovers to "Fortunate Son" (slower, moodier than CCR's original version) and "Ye Auld Triangle" (more toned down than the Pogues original).

One of the album's highlights is a cover of "It Ain't Fair" (Aretha Franklin); Marshall's take is (once again) moodier than the previous version, but it remains one of the albums best cuts, a spellbinding album-ender.

Apparently, this album is a limited-edition release, so don't hesitate if you're a fan of Cat Power's recent releases: "The Greatest" (2006) & "Jukebox" (2008). It is unknown if "Dark End" will surface on CD format.

That's it. A quickie review for a quickie album.

God this woman can sing...she has one of the most beautiful voices in music today and unlike some other singers (Feist, Jenny Lewis) she actually has the ability to project real pain, sorrow, hope, emotion through her voice.
Chan Marshall is not a blues singer but boy can she sing the blues.

Even though this is an album primarily of covers it feels like a Cat Power album though and through.

Rambling Woman, Silver Stallion and Blue are all stone cold classic covers. They all sound completely different in style and mood but are all memorable.

I listen to this album every couple of days because it puts me in a good space.

I have to say a word about the band that she uses on this album. They do a great job and create some spooky , tripped out sounding southern rock/country/soul music that never overpowers her singing but enhances it.

Count me in the camp of people who prefer Cat Power's new sound.

I love her old stripped down stuff but its gets old. With her new sound, she has proven that she is too talented to be restricted to one style.

Great album. Buy it.

Jukebox (2008, Matador) Cat Power's eighth studio album. ****

Chan Marshall has always been an enigma in the music community. Her raspy, deep voice, her strange performance at concerts, etc. Either way, she's had her fair share of brilliant moments and miserable misses, but thankfully Jukebox is a hit.

This is not the first time Marshall has done a covers album. In fact, she was brave enough to tackle "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, a song successfully covered by only one band before her (Devo, in case you're wondering). On Jukebox, Marshall again displays her eclectic taste in music, tearing each song down and giving it a new structure, a new sound, and most importantly, a new view. She opens by covering Frank Sinatra's "New York," with a slow drum easing the song off. It's a brooding affair, certainly Chan's style and a complete opposite of the uplifting version we know from Frank too well. It isn't a bad cover, rather, it's just strange, almost unrecognizeable. It begs the question of why she even bothered to cover it when she could have written her own lyrics. Only a few tracks make you ask that question, as many of these are excellently done, most notably George Jackson's "Aretha, Sing One For Me." The soft keyboards and Hammond organ accompany Marshall's voice, with a soft bouncy and soulful yet eloquent keyboard line.

The same style is applied to James Brown's "Lost Someone," a very risky choice. This cut is more mellow than "Aretha," but Marshall's strutting vocals make it a sincere moment. She also manages to work in a cleverly executed Dylan cut, "I Believe in You." The tempo is slowed and adds an echoing guitar riff. These and all the songs are fairly minimalist, and all are turned into flok, blues, or jazz-leaning renderings. It isn't a perfect way to do things, in fact, cuts like "Metal Heart" could have been left in the studio. I'd be interested to see if Marshall took any clues from Vanilla Fudge's self-titled debut, an album that consisted solely of covers, all brilliantly done. If she hasn't, she might want to brush up on them to see masters in action (Aretha, Sing One For Me, Lost Someone, I Believe in You, Song For Bobby).

-Stephen
www.politicianrock.blogspot.com

A mixed bag of reminiscent vocals of the early 70's brings you back to folk music, back rooms and college pubs at a time of social unrest. I really enjoyed the beats and music.

The cover version has unfortunately become much maligned over the years. Whereas bands were once judged by how well they could perform certain blues, R&B, Lennon/McCartney or Dylan songs and could gain kudos from picking up early on an up and coming songwriting talent, the rise of the singer/songwriter (and the extra profits from the publishing royalties) has meant the proliferation of home-grown material to the near total exclusion of pre-existing songs.

Thankfully, Cat Power, though with a proven pedigree as an accomplished songwriter, notably on her previous album of original songs The Greatest, has always peppered her live appearances and recording sessions with songs that she has felt a connection with, regardless of who wrote them, and began a whole album of them a decade ago, The Covers Record, released in 2000.

This album was conceived as a sequel, and was originally going to be called Covers 2 (and still is, on the CD Text of my copy at least). Its final title Jukebox still modestly places the emphasis on the song rather than the singer, but its major difference from The Covers Record, which was mostly Cat Power on her own, is the presence of a band, the Dirty Delta Blues Band, featuring major players including Judah Bauer from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Jim White from the Dirty Three. The sound of the band, fleshed out on some tracks by guests of the calibre of Mabon Hodges (an integral part of The Greatest) and Spooner Oldham, session veterans from Memphis and Muscle Shoals respectively, is not a million miles from that on The Greatest, though there is a deliberate ragged informality in the proceedings here that sets it apart.

It would be quite a jukebox, too, if it featured the versions that inspired Chan, with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Jessie Mae hemphill. Not all the songs were known to me, but favourites such as James Brown's Lost Someone and Joni Mitchell's Blue, a brave choice, become revitalized through her translucent performances. A Woman Left Lonely, too, is wonderful, and as it was written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, that is presumably Spooner that we can hear on it. The shortlist for this album included the Dan Penn-Chips Moman song Dark End Of The Street, and I cannot be alone in thinking how wonderful that must have sounded, and as Spooner Oldham was the pianist on James Carr's original version, it is likely he would have played on that one, also. I'm not familiar with George Jackson's original of Aretha, Sing One For Me, but as it was recorded for Hi Records back in 1972 it is quite likely that Mabon Hodges was the guitarist on it, and it is good to see Chan recognizing and acknowledging the heritage these guys bring to her record.

I don't see Cat Power as a keen follower of rules and regulations, so on this album it is no surprise to find, on this album of covers, two of her own songs. I suppose one of these, Metal Heart, is technically a cover, since she had previously recorded it on Moon Pix. The other, Song To Bobby, an album highlight, neatly follows Dylan's I Believe In You.

This limited edition version contains a bonus disc with five additional tracks, though these do not include Dark End Of The Street or the other dropped title, Fortunate Son. I would suggest grabbing this edition while it is still available.

Not speaking Spanish, some of the charms of Roberta Flack's Angelitos Negros were lost on me, but her versions of Nick Cave's Breathless and Patsy Cline's She's Got You easily match the best cuts of the first disc. The Hot Boys' I Feel is completely reinvented and is the only track to recall The Covers Record, as its only accompaniment is (her own?) piano. Her Moby Grape cover first appeared on The Covers Record, and although the bonus disc is generally less orchestrated than its parent, the restrained arrangement of Naked, If I Want To (the title has gained a comma since its earlier incarnation) demonstrates the distance traveled since the first cover. Where before the only accompaniment was Chan's guitar, now an ensemble of electric guitar, piano, bass and drums rocks along behind her.

A reviewer in (I think) Mojo, wrote of The Covers Record that Cat Power doesn't cover songs, she uncovers them, and despite the less sparse settings of this album this happily remains the case.

Here's the deal: I just really like her voice. It's one of those voices which I would enjoy even if she were singing the contents of the Boise telephone book. So yeah, I like this CD as I've liked everything she's done. So why 4 stars instead of 5? Just the covers aspect. Cat Power has done, in my view, some wonderful renditions of other people's songs, but covers CDs rarely stand the test of time like a recording of great originals. So one star removed for the "Okay, Cat...enough covers already"
factor. Otherwise, hey....it's Cat Power and it's not the Boise telephone book, so four solid, honest stars.

2 1/2

Another year, another ho-hum-drum offering from the nominally talented songwriter. As with most releases, the vast bulk bores away with monotonous instrumentation masquerading as minimalism, except this time we witness her interpretations of certain cover songs. When she holds back enough out of respect it often works best, but her choices are bland- Sea of Love almost works before it becomes tediously repetitious like most of 'em. One upside: the closest thing to Cat's puurfect song- an atypically self-less and fleshed out "I Found A Reason".

This is my first purchase of a Catpower CD. I choose this one given its good reviews. In general, I like the CD. It is extremely mellow and, overall, the songs sound nothing like the origials. I recommend listening to the song samples if you are unsure about purchasing the CD.

There are one or two really good cuts, notably, Satisaction. The rest of the CD seems dreary and repetitive. She does have an amazing voice, however. I'd say, just buy the cuts you like.

I arrived at Cat Power from her two tracks on the WKW soundtrack for 'My Blueberry Nights'. Inspired by what I heard I ordered her catalogue from Amazon. It is arriving in instalments and so this is my first 'full' experience of what Cat Power is all about. Having played the CD ten times since it arrived yesterday I can say with absolute clarity that this is a CD of great worth and utmost originality; a rare CD that actually contributes and shapes the greater musical consciousness - that is the antithesis to the majority of 'music' that either stalls progress or reverses it. And all this from an album of covers; singing the words of others. Amazing. The strength of this CD lies in three areas, firstly in the choice of her song selection, secondly obviously in her voice and thirdly in the desire the singer has to say something, to make a statement, to add her wash of colour over some pretty well-painted tunes. To follow up on the last point, what she succeeds in doing is essentially erasing that which went before and starting anew. Take for example track #1, the Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction'. The idea of covering that is a pretty daunting one, how does one make it original, yet pay homage to one of the worlds' most listened to songs? an enigma of immense difficulties. Yet, what she has done is to take that song, and to make it her own, and dare I say it (as with other tracks), she has actually BETTERED the original. Bettered the original of 'Satisfaction'? - I would argue so. She has achieved the impossible. And she has achieved all this with a very sultry, down-tempo offering which would be easy to mistake for elevator music or filler if you weren't properly paying attention.

I would suggest that if you have arrived at this page, they you should not hesitate to buy this CD, I can't see how anyone with a genuine interest in either music - real music, or self-expressive musical artists, could not find this CD anything other than enthralling and enigmatically wondrous.

Personal favourites:
Track #1 (I can't get no) Satisfaction
Track #2 Kingsport Town

N.B. People often draw the mis-conclusions between Cat Power and Natalie Merchant or Feist. Whilst I love all three I think there are no real similarities, save the quirky female and the penchant for good ballads. Each one has their own style and should not be 'boxed' or compared.

The goal of this CD is to distill the beauty from others' songs, and expose it, unhidden and unobscured to the world. From these songs, you can tell that this woman has identified and captured the heart of the songs, the little nuggets of truth nestled within layers of confusion, and it is beautiful. The album is trying to be transparent where everyone else is trying to hide the musical ball. If you have ever listened to songs looking for these nuggets, for the real purpose and source of a song, you will hold this album deep in your heart and can ease the loneliness of feeling like you are the only one who can see.

Intense and powerful music. If you enjoy Cat Power check out Arrica Rose's music; particularly her newest album: La La Lost.

Chan Marshalls raspy, mysterious voice has brought us to a new level of her music in a modern sense. With Songs like "Lived in Bars" and "the Greatest" Marshall gives us a modern day song with her personal touch that no other can seem to reach. This CD is a must own if you are a Cat Power fan.

I agree with most reviews here, it's a great album. The only thing I want to make clear this is the same CD but comes inside a card sleeve that's why the cover in the picture looks different. Otherwise has a great price that's worth's paying.

Cat Power 's vid for 1998's " Naked As The News " was an intense music experience , equally disturbing and powerful with , let's say P.J.Harvey's " Down By The Water " or Bjork's " Army Of Me " . Then , her hypnotic vid for " Cross Bone Style " was the equivalent of an indie wet dream - strange and beautiful - . Up until recently the singer had been known for being a mess on stage and heartbreakingly beautiful and melancholic on record . 2003's " You 're Free " , her best work so far , featured few fully rounded songs . She mostly delivered fractured ideas of a song , small odes to pain and isolation .

Fast forward to 2007 and Chan Marshall returns sober and happy yet arguably a less exciting songwritter . " The Greatest " is an album that doesn't do justice to her virtues as an artist . On tracks like " Could We " she wins points in structure but lacks the feeling of her past work . Her voice still has that haunting quality it always had and the tittle track is just pure magic but while there's something undeniably special about the girl ( just notice the warmth of personal redemption she brings to the vid of "Lived In Bars ") her breakthrough album just doesn't live to it's hype .

I loved this CD. It moved me, amazed me, and made me want to grind all over my sig other (now fiance). I think this CD might be one of the reasons that we are getting married.

That said, I was heartbroken when I heard her cover of "How Can I Tell You" by Cat Stevens used in a diamond commercial. Now, I can never listen to another CD by Cat Power without wondering if she wrote that song because she *had* to, or because she wanted to sell X?

This is why I hate it when singers allow their songs or performances to be used in commercials. It puts the stench of impure motives on everything they do from that moment forward. As Bill Hicks said "You do a commercial, you're off the artistic roll call forever. End of story."

Such talent!! I love this album and every other one that Cat Power has done. There's a reason Cat Power has been around so long and probably will continue to be. Another artist frequently compared to Cat Power...a modern-day version: Arrica Rose, an emerging singer-songwriter in her new album La La Lost comes real close to Cat Power. Check her out.

I'm noticing that this is the most-reviewed Cat Power album on Amazon (or at least in a close race with The Greatest), but I wanted to add my review to the pile because this is my favorite. It has "Maybe Not" which came out at a time where things in the world seemed a bit out of control, and out of the hands of the common person, and just said "we all do what we can." I saw Chan's crazy free summer concert in NYC a few years back and while that show was chaotic fun (she stopped playing for a while to chase a squirrel around the stage, trying to feed it some bread), that song brought tears to my eyes. Anyway, this album also has "Good Woman" which is a simple, beautifully written song, and some of the best hooks, in my opinion, that Chan's written. But I like just about everything she does. (My screenname is a Cat Power reference, so there you go.)

Known for her minimalist style, sparse guitar and piano backing, and otherworldly vocals, and equally notorious for her chaotic, tearful, and unpolished live performances, Cat Power is the stage name of New York City singer/songwriter Chan Marshall. Her sixth release, You Are Free (2003), is among my favorite Cat Power albums. It features Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters) on drums and Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam) on backing vocals on a couple of the tracks. Better known for her cover albums (The Covers Record; The Greatest; and Jukebox), You Are Free is all original Cat Power material. Tracks include:

1. I Don't Blame You (3:04)
2. Free (3:33)
3. Good Woman (3:56)
4. Speak For Me (3:01)
5. Werewolf (4:05)
6. Fool (3:47)
7. He War (3:29)
8. Shaking Paper (4:27)
9. Babydoll (3:05)
10. Maybe Not 4:16
11. Names (4:49)
12. Half Of You (2:39)
13. Keep On Runnin' (3:49)
14. Evolution (4:45)

The intense emotions in these songs are real. Shortly after releasing this album, Cat Power suffered a "psychotic break" that resulted in a brief admission to the Psychiatric ward at Miami's Mount Sinai.

G. Merritt

This album hit my heart like a bullet. Some people get too into the "complexity" of music and forget that it is not just math but mystery too. This album is soul. It is mystery. It is (expletive) beautiful.

I want to say this is one of her more solid releases, but I've always felt Marshall's songwriting was anything but solid. So I guess this would be one of her better embellishments, taking what little framework she has a a pianist/guitarist and spinning it into something a little more edge-like. Most of the time her frail, minimal approach does not succeed simply due to a lack of range. I am all for the style, but one must always learn the rules before unlearning them, Cat Power always sounded like she just skipped those steps. Likewise, when she tries to pull of her more bluesy, southern-styled approach it usually feels rather forced and phony. Still she does land a few stripped-down songs with convincing sincerity, and with a few songs concentrating on some of her less-absorbed, but more absorbing rock work, You Are Free should be considered, if not a step forward for the overrated songwriter, certainly not a step back.

Cat Power has created another beautiful album. Even though half the album is covers, she makes those songs her own, just like on her Covers Record. If your a Cat Power fan, its a must buy. If your not, its a great introduction to her music and you'll probably end up buying her older albums after hearing this one.

The cover version has unfortunately become much maligned over the years. Whereas bands were once judged by how well they could perform certain blues, R&B, Lennon/McCartney or Dylan songs and could gain kudos from picking up early on an up and coming songwriting talent, the rise of the singer/songwriter (and the extra profits from the publishing royalties) has meant the proliferation of home-grown material to the near total exclusion of pre-existing songs.

Thankfully, Cat Power, though with a proven pedigree as an accomplished songwriter, notably on her previous album of original songs The Greatest, has always peppered her live appearances and recording sessions with songs that she has felt a connection with, regardless of who wrote them, and began a whole album of them a decade ago, The Covers Record, released in 2000.

This album was conceived as a sequel, and was originally going to be called Covers 2 (and still is, on the CD Text of my copy at least). Its final title Jukebox still modestly places the emphasis on the song rather than the singer, but its major difference from The Covers Record, which was mostly Cat Power on her own, is the presence of a band, the Dirty Delta Blues Band, featuring major players including Judah Bauer from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Jim White from the Dirty Three. The sound of the band, fleshed out on some tracks by guests of the calibre of Mabon Hodges (an integral part of The Greatest) and Spooner Oldham, session veterans from Memphis and Muscle Shoals respectively, is not a million miles from that on The Greatest, though there is a deliberate ragged informality in the proceedings here that sets it apart.

It would be quite a jukebox, too, if it featured the versions that inspired Chan, with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Jessie Mae hemphill. Not all the songs were known to me, but favourites such as James Brown's Lost Someone and Joni Mitchell's Blue, a brave choice, become revitalized through her translucent performances. A Woman Left Lonely, too, is wonderful, and as it was written by Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, that is presumably Spooner that we can hear on it. The shortlist for this album included the Dan Penn-Chips Moman song Dark End Of The Street, and I cannot be alone in thinking how wonderful that must have sounded, and as Spooner Oldham was the pianist on James Carr's original version, it is likely he would have played on that one, also. I'm not familiar with George Jackson's original of Aretha, Sing One For Me, but as it was recorded for Hi Records back in 1972 it is quite likely that Mabon Hodges was the guitarist on it, and it is good to see Chan recognizing and acknowledging the heritage these guys bring to her record.

I don't see Cat Power as a keen follower of rules and regulations, so on this album it is no surprise to find, on this album of covers, two of her own songs. I suppose one of these, Metal Heart, is technically a cover, since she had previously recorded it on Moon Pix. The other, Song To Bobby, an album highlight, neatly follows Dylan's I Believe In You.

A reviewer in (I think) Mojo, wrote of The Covers Record that Cat Power doesn't cover songs, she uncovers them, and despite the less sparse settings of this album this happily remains the case.

A limited edition of this CD exists with a second 5-track disc, which you may wish to consider as an alternative.

These interpretations are more than covers; every one is transformed into something unique and special. In addition there are two of her own compositions: Song To Bobby and Metal Heart, both great songs. My favorites include Blue (Joni Mitchell) that Chan makes into a torch song, I Believe In You (Bob Dylan), Breathless (Nick Cave), Ramblin' Person (Hank Williams) which sounds different but equally desperate, Noo Yawk (Frank Sinatra) which becomes introspective and Joplin's A Woman Left Lonely which gets a soulful treatment. The familiar is made new again in a blend of blues, country, soul and even a bit of jazz, for a most enjoyable listening experience. If you like this one you'll also enjoy here Covers album.

Jukebox, $[...] Amazon.com, is the latest release from Cat Power. The band is composed of the chestnut-haired beauty Chan Marshall (vocals), and of Judah Bauer (guitar), Jim White (drums), Erik Paparazzi (bass), and Gregg Foreman (piano & organ). Five special guests - Spooner Oldham, Teenie Hodges, Larry McDonald, Dylan Willemsa, and Matt Sweeney - also appear. The ten featured cover songs and two originals on this lux album were captured by Stuart Sikes at Hit Factory in Miami, at Rare Book Room in Brooklyn, and at Sikes Studio in Dallas. `Jukebox' is the first (and probably only) CD that I'll buy in all of 2008.

Understanding the formula behind the cover selections is simple; for example, Kander & Ebb (known chiefly for `Cabaret') wrote `New York, New York,' but everyone associates the song with Frank Sinatra. Therefore, Marshall takes the song and inhabits it with all the conviction of Sinatra, but she deconstructs it, adding her own lyrical flourishes and shorthand, bending it in the process. Not content to stop there, she does the same thing to an old revered Hank Williams song, `Ramblin' (Wo)man,' inverting the gender.

Keeping in mind Marshall authored `Metal Heart' in 1998, it's nice to hear she's retooled it - this jauntier version runs just under 4 minutes, and is more energetic, with piano accompaniment from Gregg Foreman of the Dirty Delta Blues. Marshall contributes one other original song called `Song To Bobby,' to Jukebox. This long track is an ode to Bob Dylan, Chan's musical idol. Granted, there is a sweet nostalgia to the lyrics, but this is actually my least favorite track. (For more info on Bob Dylan, visit [...])

Everyone that I've talked to about this album seems to gravitate to a particular track, and about a dozen of us seem to agree that `Silver Stallion,' clocking in just under 3 minutes, is the standout track most likely to receive radio airplay. The song is credited to Lee Clayton, whose musical career I'm unfortunately not all that familiar with; whoever is playing the slide guitar on this number is truly remarkable though. Marshall's vocals are casual, sly, melancholy, and tender all at once.

Beautiful songs like `Aretha, Sing One For Me,' - an ode to pop singer, rhythm-and-blues singer, and soul singer Aretha Franklin - are perfect for Chan's emotive expressive voice. I took pleasure in the old style intro that launched the song with a drum roll. Marshall follows this with a soulful version of `I Lost Someone,' - a rhythm-and-blues song originally penned by the late great James Brown - that should have also included some horns. Marshall then rescues an old traditional song `Lord, Help The Poor & Needy,' - by Jessie Mae Hemphill - from the public domain.

One of the most inspiring songs on `Jukebox' is the robust inclusion of `I Believe In You,' a somewhat more obscure song from the Bob Dylan discography. The bass on this track is just plain excellent; I also wonder how the track would sound if Chan sang it accompanied solely by a piano. `Don't Explain,' - track ten - is a cover of a legendary Billie Holiday song, and the mournful keyboard playing by Gregg Foreman or Spooner Oldham that accompanies the songbird is a real knockout.

Xtra love and attention were poured into the final two songs on `Jukebox.' `Woman Left Lonely,' is a heartfelt rendition of an old standard (written by Spooner Oldham) that exposes Chan Marshall's emotional landscape. Spooner was kind enough to grace the keyboards on this particular track. `Blue,' is a dour, faithful but melancholy version of the legendary Joni Mitchell song that was made famous back in 1971. Remember, if you buy the deluxe gatefold edition of *Jukebox - you'll get five extra songs on a bonus CD; `I Feel,' `Naked, If I Want To,' `Breathless,' `Angelitos Negros,' and `She's Got You.' It should also be noted that Marshall currently has tracks available on two soundtracks - I'm Not There and Juno.

I can't stop listening to this record. chan did it again.

my favorite track on the record is, undoubtedly, her cover of bob dylan's "I believe in you." she captures it as her own, and, let's face it, it's hard to cover dylan. she does it with ease and grace and some raw rock n' roll.

I adore this record, through and through.

this album,,is so beautiful and like others have said great to listen to while day dreaming or riding a bus where you don't really need to pay attention to whats really going on and just drift off with the music. but Cat Power has seriously changed over the years like most artist do,,but i feel like she is just straying for commercial-sake... her albums since you are free,,started to become more and more polished and more and more produced to where she lost that edge that made her music so lo-fi (almost recorded in a bedroom w/ a fourtrack),,everyone thought they could be cat power by learning a couple cords on the guitar and piano,,and singing their heart out,,well at least that's what i thought. i just wish she would come back to this sound, or the Covers Record sound and ditch Corporate America. I knew it was all over when i saw her new album being advertised at Target for 9.99 or something. boo.

Ms. Marshall always seemed to get an undue amount of credit as an indie female songwriter, when in fact she is usually guilty of just highly embellishing numbingly simple songs. On rare occasions her attempts at a haunting minimalism by way of undereducated musician do work, and with this being one of her earliest discs we do have a few seamless tracks. Roughly half of the album however retains her signature trickery of which yields little more then boring songs dragged thru her lo-fi production in attempts at rawness.

Among fans, MoonPix holds a kind of mystique. Stories get told. One goes something like this: Chan Marshall, retired from the music industry, awakens one stormy night after a bad dream. In an agitated fugue state, she furiously writes the whole of MoonPix in one sitting. The following day (still driven by night demons mind you) she calls her surprised record label and sweet talks an executive into sending her to Australia--land of the Dingo, the Aborigine, the Cane Toad--to record a moody batch of pathos ridden devil songs. The result is a spooky, haunted album, by a half-crazy girl. It goes on to be a notable success for Cat Power.

Well,... that's the story anyway.

Fans seem to like that myth a lot. Maybe they overpraise the album because of it? Rate it highly, despite its many flaws? All I can tell you is what I hear in Moon Pix. One thing is certain, the album is a giant leap forward over the earliest Cat Power albums. The singing, production, arrangements, and songs are all considerably better than those on Dear Sir and Myra Lee. But then those early albums set the bar so awfully low that even vast improvement still leaves us with only an okay album. On the up side, the songs "Metal Heart", "Cross Bones Style," and "No Sense" are great songs, best appreciated independently of the rest of the album. I like the direction Chan Marshall and her band are heading with these songs. The musicianship is well improved over previous works (though that's not much of a claim, considering the previous works). More importantly, the band avoids the endless Sonic Youth dissonance that marred the first albums.

The rest of Moon Pix could still benefit from quite a bit more polishing. All the songs share the same or similar sounds. Similar chord changes, tempo, key; and let's just admit it, Chan Marshall can't really play any instrument. Any grade schooler with a couple of years of piano lessons could play piano with more authority than she does. The same is true of her two or three chord guitar work. She fingerpicks a few cowboy chords and occasionally bumbles even on those. In the very first song "American Flag," there's a clumsy moment a minute and a half into it where she messes up and gets out of sync with the drum machine. What's odd to me is she seems to be surrounded by much better musicians. One wonders why she doesn't just stick to singing and let one of the other guys handle the heavy lifting?

Previous reviewers have mentioned how this is good music for a rainy day--indeed, there are thunder sounds on "Say". A nice touch. I could see how you might like the continuous monodrone sound of this record if you're looking for ambient music to serve you on a down day when you're feeling reflective. On the other hand, if you're trying to fight off sadness, laziness, or mood swings, this is not the album to put on. Take "Moonshiner" for example; it's heroin music--sluggish, lethargic, hypnotic--written for the loser, the loner, the addict, the drunk. It wouldn't be out of place on a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album.

Not all the songs are complete downers, nor do they all neccesarily contain deep mystical insights from a crazy hell-haunted woman. It is true there are a few important songs on this record, spooky and beautiful enough to justify repeated listening. But taken as a whole album Moon Pix sounds endlessly droning and burned out. For me, too much so. One critic (when commenting on how problematic Cat Power albums tend to be) said Chan's "probably an EP artist at heart". I think that's about right. With the exception of The Greatest, none of her albums are really able to sustain the momentum of her best individual songs.

If you're new to Cat Power or are trying to figure out which album to buy first, buy the most recent albums: The Greatest (if you're into R&B), You Are Free (if you're looking for indie rock), or The Cover Record (if you like folksy blues). Each are superior to Moon Pix--though none carry the kind of mythos that has made Moon Pix so famous. Perhaps one day Matador will release a "best of" album. Chan Marshall is great when you can just to get to those wonderful (but sparsely distributed) jewel songs that are buried somewhere on each album.

I think that this work by Cat Power is worth listening and has some very good moments. Anyway, despite the fact that I like intimistic music and listened to it several times, I still cannot understand why it had so many ecstatic reviews all around the world. It is a very moody record from begining to end and neither the music nor the lyrics left me wanting more at the end of the CD.

I don't even remember finding out about Cat Power, but I listened to her newest album, "The Greatest" and fell in love with her emotional style of singing. I checked out "Moon Pix" and it happened to be a chilly, rainy day. Let me just say, this album and a cloudy, rainy day go hand in hand. The music is hauntingly beautiful, and the lyrics tear apart your soul. Some people think Cat Power can't sing, but Chan Marshall (her real name) proves that you don't need to have a Mariah Carey voice to be able to have beautiful music. And trust me, Mariah Carey doesn't even come close to Cat Power!

2 1/2

Although her debut was a tad more earnestly raw then subsequent releases, the banality of her writing and playing always bored me out of my mind. Even more mysterious is why I invested in her as an artist, constantly wanting to believe critics..Was her one brilliant song, where she managed to combine simplistic, minimalist habits into something sublime, in V for Vendetta? Marshall was always unnecessarily hoisted to the top ranks of indie rock, and was in no small part because she was female and rocking out with a degree of vulnerability that appealed to various demographics, but perhaps the actual songwriting was not as objectively looked at as should be. I'm a fan of minimalist balladry as much as anyone else, but doing that genre justice requires a degree of finesse and subtle flux that Cat Power's clunky sound has never had. It just goes to show how some true charisma can make even the most mediocre of songwriters ascend to levels of greatness-both critically and commercially.

I bought this cd haphazardly at Kim's Underground in NYC about 12 years ago at the recommendation of one of the employees, and it has been one of my all-time faves ever since. Chan's voice may not be the most attractive, but it and her music convey an unconventionally sad and beautiful melodic portrait with raw intensity in this melancholic, and oftentimes emotionally fueled album. My favorite tracks? Well, "Bathysphere" is an angrily obvious ode to adolescent angst and delivers with satisfying intensity; "King Rides By" is one of the most gorgeously humble and tragic love songs ever produced. I highly recommend this album if you dig that sort of thing.

I came back to this album after a long hiatus. It is wonderful and should be bought by anyone with an interest in alternative music. "Nude as the News" which is one of her all time greats is here, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. Listen to track 7 -- so simple and beautiful it makes me shiver and want to cry...."oh come and peep through a hole in the wall just to watch his heart undressing..."

The best recommendation for any album is that you buy more albums from that artist. You should buy this album, looking for the right price. Your friends will think better of your music collection when they hear this.

The album moves along at pace. The voice is great. All tracks were good. Nothing from left field leaving you wondering why. You may possibly want a little more variety.

The last track "The Coat Is Always On" left me wanting to listen to the album again, possibly with headphones to hear the background.

There are twelve tracks, good album legnth making it value for your dollar. The only downside was there was no booklet.

Not a huge fan of cat power but a huge fan of this album. I feel like Cat power has raw moments in this album that are divine to herself. I love her cover of Smog's bathyspere. well said by whoever on allmusic.com "and Smog's "Bathysphere" show off Marshall's ability to make any song a Cat Power song." If you listen to Smog's bathysphere it is almost completely different. have to be in the right mood to listen to this. can be boring if not feeling like her. but can be intense if going through her music. Nude as the news is an amazing amazing song. and Steve Shelley's part in the last song reminds me of Sonic Youth and reminds me of his importance and uniqueness often not appreciated that he often doesn't recieve. I am dissapointed at Chan's new stuff and wish the rest of her stuff went here. not for me, like her new stuff is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the corners cut off, but that is just me. Listen to this. I feel like she knew herself better here, even though she didn't seemingly have it all together....but i am not here to talk about that. converse me.

Intense and powerful music. If you enjoy Cat Power check out Arrica Rose's music; particularly her newest album: La La Lost.

Chan Marshalls raspy, mysterious voice has brought us to a new level of her music in a modern sense. With Songs like "Lived in Bars" and "the Greatest" Marshall gives us a modern day song with her personal touch that no other can seem to reach. This CD is a must own if you are a Cat Power fan.

I agree with most reviews here, it's a great album. The only thing I want to make clear this is the same CD but comes inside a card sleeve that's why the cover in the picture looks different. Otherwise has a great price that's worth's paying.

Cat Power 's vid for 1998's " Naked As The News " was an intense music experience , equally disturbing and powerful with , let's say P.J.Harvey's " Down By The Water " or Bjork's " Army Of Me " . Then , her hypnotic vid for " Cross Bone Style " was the equivalent of an indie wet dream - strange and beautiful - . Up until recently the singer had been known for being a mess on stage and heartbreakingly beautiful and melancholic on record . 2003's " You 're Free " , her best work so far , featured few fully rounded songs . She mostly delivered fractured ideas of a song , small odes to pain and isolation .

Fast forward to 2007 and Chan Marshall returns sober and happy yet arguably a less exciting songwritter . " The Greatest " is an album that doesn't do justice to her virtues as an artist . On tracks like " Could We " she wins points in structure but lacks the feeling of her past work . Her voice still has that haunting quality it always had and the tittle track is just pure magic but while there's something undeniably special about the girl ( just notice the warmth of personal redemption she brings to the vid of "Lived In Bars ") her breakthrough album just doesn't live to it's hype .

I loved this CD. It moved me, amazed me, and made me want to grind all over my sig other (now fiance). I think this CD might be one of the reasons that we are getting married.

That said, I was heartbroken when I heard her cover of "How Can I Tell You" by Cat Stevens used in a diamond commercial. Now, I can never listen to another CD by Cat Power without wondering if she wrote that song because she *had* to, or because she wanted to sell X?

This is why I hate it when singers allow their songs or performances to be used in commercials. It puts the stench of impure motives on everything they do from that moment forward. As Bill Hicks said "You do a commercial, you're off the artistic roll call forever. End of story."

1 1/2

Dreadfully, derivatively dull, guitar-based simpleton ramblings sounds like the depressed goth chic strumming in her garage band on weekends from junior year. Ms. Marshall's sophomore release might have fooled many with delusions of raw emotion, when in actuality the only the that rings noticeable throughout these sludgy sessions is her occasional vocal intuition.

Ignore the five star reviews granted to this album by the Cat Power faithful. Like Dear Sir, this album is filled with raw tuneless dirges, sloppy guitar playing, and atonal singing. I wouldn't object so much to the amateur treatment if the work wasn't so entirely derivative from the female artists who actually originated this style of music quite some time before Cat Power. Reviewers who consider this album original would have to be unfamiliar with the singing of Lydia Lunch, Marnie Greenholz from Live Skull, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, all of whom helped define this type of post punk caterwauling. Whether you enjoy this type of music or not, Myra Lee makes no serious contribution to it. "Ice Water" is probably the most successful of the bunch, though as a whole the album is unrelentingly amateurish. What's more, the song "Rockets" is repeated from the Dear Sir album (go figure).

Chan has said she is unhappy with how this album turned out, and who can blame her? She's right--it didn't turn out that well. Like all her albums through Moon Pix, this album suffers from lack of a proper production budget and decent backup musicians.

Anyway, don't get suckered in like I did by the endless glowing reviews her dutiful fans dole out. It's as if they hear no difference between Chan's earliest crudest work, and her best efforts on You Are Free and The Greatest. The difference in sound is like night and day. Use your ears--it's not that hard to figure out people.

A mysterious title for such a mysterious album. At first while getting this album I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean I do own some Cat Power music but this album is driven by true emotion. These emotions are not usally what people write to. This stuff is true it's driven by anger and frustration. Chan's voice gives such a great presentation of what she is feeling but also comes lightly to let you know it is going to be ok. The contrast of this album to all the others is so amazing that it could only have been done by Chan.

I like Moon Pix and Dear Sir better. This one has a couple of really good songs but as a whole the others are more satisfying.

this is my favorite album because it is true to a more raw, emotional sense. i feel it is her best work.