In 2000 I saw the Matador Records 10th Anniversary Party, three nights at Irvin Plaza. Cat Power played on the second night and captivated me. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. The sound still echoes in my ears and memory. I was instantly transformed, converted into a Cat Power fan.

Her voice is simply beautiful. Hypnotic, Enveloping. Her guitar playing is similarly hypnotic. A vulnerable truth unencumbered by a need to hide itself from the world. All art and all artists should aspire to this level of vulnerability.

I bought The Covers Record on the strength of her cover of Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. A song I didn't recognize until it was 2/3 done. Out of all her albums this is the most accessible, and I would consider this a great starting point, a great introduction to Chan Marshall a-k-a Cat Power.

Melancholy, slow, airy. Great art has the ability to transport you into a different world. This album transports you. If I close my eyes, I can see the studio with Chan at the piano, a single light so she can see the keys. If I keep them closed I'm drawn into the drama, the heartbreak, loss, and sorrow.

I saw Cat Power in 2001 at the Bowery Ballroom. She wasn't nearly as captivating. It was her crowd. She was confident on stage, almost brash. She played random songs she knew a few chords to and didn't finish them. She quipped with the audience. I don't know if this is typical of her performances now. I certainly hope not. Where was the Chan Marshall we had all come to know and love? Had this bravado swallowed her up?

I brought a friend of mine, a musician who can be similarly vulnerable. I wanted to show her a successful musician who wasn't polished, and whose main strength was her honesty. We left early.

Someone said that an album is a testament to a certain place in time. The Covers Record is her most polished album, but it certainly doesn't attempt to hide Chan away from the world. This album is a testament to who Chan Marshall was and is. A testament to a person.


Best I've heard all year...   May 3, 2000
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

You'd think that starting at the beginning of the year and ending now I'd hear something better than a covers record wouldn't you? Covers records have historically stunk. Generally speaking, you don't want to hear someone do covers because the original is unbeatable. However Chan Marshall has made what I feel is the best album to come out this year (thus far... it's early, so there's still time) Where I can never say that someone, anyone, has performed a song better than the original, I can say that Chan Marshall has matched them. Her beautiful voice and stripped down performing style are perfect for these songs. Highlights are "Naked If I Want To" "Salty Dog" and "Sea of Love." One of the most interesting tracks is when she does a cover of one of her own songs "In This Hole," originally appearing on "What Would The Community Think." Also does wonderful folkish countryish songs Dylan's "Paths of Victory" (sounds wonderful on the piano) and traditional "Salty Dog." Where for the type of album this is, I would normally recomend for listeners new to Cat Power go for a Chan Marshall original, like "Moon Pix" however, either will do. This is an excellent introduction to Cat Power, and even though it's all covers, one of the more original albums to come out this year.


She can't play, but she can sure sing   September 3, 2006
 17 out of 22 found this review helpful

If you've been listening to the Cat Power album, The Greatest, you'll know that Chan Marshall makes a superb blues singer. The Covers Record, a likable collection of cover songs recorded in the late 1990s, serves as a nice introduction to Marshall's blues/folk singing style. There is no backup band on this stripped down album, only Marshall's voice and one other instrument per song. Spare, but it gets the job done.

Some reviewers have fawned over her version of the Stones classic "Satisfaction." I'm okay with that, but I'm considerably more enchanted by "Salty Dog," the country blues standard made famous by Mississippi John Hurt. Marshall does a wonderful version of it, easily on par with any folk or blues singer you can think of. One reason this song stands out for me is that she sticks to her strength (bluesy singing) and turns the guitar duties over to an actual professional, Matt Sweeney. He does nice job playing fingerstyle guitar John Hurt fashion. It's so easy to like this song. It's simple, clean, and sounds really great.

If only she had followed this approach for every song on the album! This could have easily been a five star album... not even just five stars, but a THOUSAND stars! But instead, Marshall prefers schlubing her way through the piano and guitar parts rather than have one of her talented friends provide a proper accompaniment. The Covers Record has a DIY quality to it as a result. Although I do like The Covers Record--it's one of her best albums--I keep thinking of how great it might have been if only she focused exclusively on singing.

Fortunately for us, Marshall's great voice saves the album. The CD is quite listenable even in spite of some of her bumbling and plodding accompaniments. I approve of the stripped down approach--no drum machines, no distorted guitars, no overdubbed harmonies. Truly, it would have been a formula for absolute perfection, if only!

Ah well... what are Cat Power fans if not an exasperated bunch? Look at any forum about her. It's one post after the next making excuses for her screwups, or making suggestions for improvement: "Chan would be so good if only she didn't cry and stop playing, or if only Chan would tune her guitar, or if only Chan would complete the song without messing up, or if only Chan would get a good producer who could help her." Somehow these problems never seem to arise with her peers like Ani Difranco, Regina Spektor, PJ Harvey, etc... but Cat Power fans have to learn to be tolerant. Every song can't be a winner. And in her case, it's more like every tenth song might be a winner, but only if the moon is right, she happens to be in a good mood, isn't drunk, nobody says anything mean to her, and she decides to let someone else play guitar for a change. Then and only then you may just get to hear something really magical come out of her.

In any event, The Covers Record has some remarkable moments and if you can accept its DIY limitations, it's a good listen.



A voice as gorgeous as she is.   March 23, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Covers records can be such a tricky thing. There are inherent dangers for an artist trying to pull one off. Do you do it exactly like the original? No one wants to hear that. Do you place the song in a new genre? Ugh, Madonna's "American Pie" has shown the world the errors of THAT. I mean, just think of that awful Duran Duran cover record (Simon LeBon singing Public Enemy's "911 is a Joke"?) or Guns N Roses "Spaghetti Incident." Ew.

Chan Marshall, however, manages to do it right on this album. Just listen to what she does on the opening track, with the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." Just as you get over the confusion of the song sounding completely different, Chan's voice kicks in and says, "for the next half hour, these songs are mine."

And once you hear her beautiful version of "Sea of Love", all harp and creaky voice, you should agree. It's a perfect late night, sitting around smoking cigarettes kind of album.


Chan Performs Well in Concert   May 5, 2000
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

It's generally known that Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) gives bad show because she gets insecure and freaked out and tends to get upset when she makes mistakes. She's also just kind of weird. So it was against my better judgement when I attended her recent show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, after have attended two shows in NYC over the last few years.

Hair covering her face like a Ramone, she interupted nearly every song, but every song was as gorgeous as it is on The Covers Record. The raw beauty of her voice is amazing, accompanying herself with such spare intstrumentation. Weaving one song into another, she stopped only to switch from electric guitar to piano (as on the album). You'll need to listen to the album many times before you can truly appreciate its loveliness. Then see her live. Forgive her insecurity and hesitations, even cheer her on. But she will move you.