Cat Power - You Are Free
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Free Music Notes for You Are Free
Free Music Review: Marshall's Best Yet
Hit: 5 Stars
This year in music has been pretty boring so far. Nothing worth getting excited about has come out...and that's why it is all the more relieving that Chan Marshall just released the best work of her career with "You Are Free."The album's opener, "I Don't Blame You," leads one to believe that Marshall is content with continuing along her same old path: it is a slow, piano-driven number reminiscent of the entire Cat Power back catalogue.
Though the song treads previously explored territory, it is already apparent that Marshall is on top of her songwriting game. The somber mood and the light hooks are executed perfectly.
But when "Free" chimes in after the brief moment of silence in between tracks, you realize Marshall has some new tricks up her sleeve. It makes use of a simple guitar part that is looped throughout its entirety. However, "Free" is so well written that it never gets boring. Different textures and vocals interchange seamlessly to produce a fresh, lively song. It rocks.
Marshall showed she was more than capable of breathing her own life into songs penned by other artists with her 2000 release, "The Covers Record." She chose to include two cover songs on "You Are Free" with country artist Michael Hurley's "Werewolf" and blues legend John Lee Hooker's "Keep on Runnin' (Crawlin' Black Spider)."
The covers work very well within the context of Marshall's own work; they never really feel like they could have been written by anyone but her. "Werewolf" is especially convincing with its string-tinged, haunting persona.
Marshall flexes her songwriting muscle time and time again throughout "You Are Free." The middle section of the album continues to explore new territory. This is all embodied by the album's best track (believe me, it was hard to pick just one), "He War," which is an outstanding guitar-driven rocker that manages to be haunting and menacing at the same time.
"Maybe Not," the tenth track, ushers in a retreat back to the piano, and it's a gorgeous tune. The last few tracks of the album follow in the same somber vein, but they all sound fresh and exciting given the context of the rest of the album-and it doesn't hurt that Marshall has become one of the best songwriters alive today.
If Chan Marshall continues to make albums like "You Are Free," then she will be establish herself in the same league as the classic singer-songwriters Carole King, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, et al. Quite simply, this is the best album that has been released this year, and it will be nearly impossible for it not to remain among the top releases of 2003.
Free Music Review: Simply Elegant.
Hit: 5 Stars
I first became aware of Cat Power music through an interesting woman I met on the internet. She suggested the "You Are Free" CD for the best listen. I looked it up, read a few rather mixed reviews and purchased the CD. It arrived on a Saturday afternoon; I played it that evening. I was feeling weary of the world, somewhat lonely and I was sitting in a dimly-lit room. A half bottle of reasonably good Merlot was by my side and my cat, JR, was napping on the coffee table. I can't think of a better setting in which to first hear this wonderful music.Cat Power is basically Chan Marshall, who accompanies herself on guitar and piano, plus a small assortment of supporting musicians. Every song on the CD is excellent but I have strong preferences for some. On four of the tracks (Free, Speak for Me, He War and Shaking Paper) Chan is accompanied by a small band and on one track (Evolution) she sings a duet with a very subdued and backgroundish Eddie Vedder. All are first rate and provide variety. The real strength of the album, however, lies with the other nine tracks (I Don't Blame You, Good Woman, Werewolf, Fool, Babydoll, Maybe Not, Names, Half of You and Keep on Runnin'). Here Chan functions essentially as a soloist singing and playing piano or guitar. It might be easy to criticize her as a vocalist, instrumentalist or writer as the music is so simple. However, the melodic combination she presents provides a presence so strong that it feels as if you have a cherished friend in the room playing some wonderful songs just for you. Add to this a masterly arrangment that lightly and elegantly blends little touches of electric guitar, cello, violin and voices and gives a music of astonishing charm, beauty and depth. I have trouble with the lyrics and I listen intently wondering what this wonderful lady is trying to tell me, but then Names cuts right to the bone. Marvelous presentation! So, what are my favorites? That's a difficult choice as they're all so outstanding. As I'm writing this I'd say Good Woman, Werewolf and Babydoll. Perhaps tomorrow it might be Maybe Not, Names and Half Of You. Maybe sometime else, some of the others.
Thank you Chan; It's a exquisite album.
Free Music Review: power-ful
Hit: 5 Stars
i've only heard snippets of cat power's work over the years such as their covers like "wonderwall" and the occasional great song that plays on the college radio station here in my local town so i can't honestly say that i'm completely familiar with cat power's discography but i do love the you are free album. i recently was talking with a friend and he mentioned that chan marshall was the only female singer/ songwriter he listened which actually surprised me and made me want to purchase one of the cat power albums. i wasn't sure exactly where to start but this was as good a place as any i suppose. chanmarshall isindeed a great singer/songwriter and i'm actually kicking myself because i didn't see their recent show in my local area. i don't know how to describe the sound of cat power to someone who has never heard ms. marshall's work but i can say that i love the array of instruments used here. the music itself reminds me at times of a cross between beth orton and leonard cohen although a little less electronic than ms.orton's great work. the lyrics here are not near as dark as leonard cohen per se but nevertheless display a great deal of courage and often wit not found in most albums recorded in our time. unlike most cds that you will buy over a given period of time, every song on this cd is a good song and you won't find yourself skipping through songs when listening to you are free. my only complaint with this cd (if you can call at that) is a small one indeed. i couldn't get enough of this album and was honestly dying for more at the end. the only other complaint i have with the account is the cardboard cover. this has to be one of the cheapest and flimsiest cases i've ever seen as i've worn mine to death in just a matter of days. i prefer the standard jewel case with inserts so this is somewhat of a disappointment to me. other than that, this is one of the best albums i've bought this year and i'd highly recommend this to anyone with a devout interest in great music.Free Music Review: she's in prowling form!
Hit: 5 Stars
it's been a long time since moon pix came out. i think some of us thought she may have slipped into a perpetual funk of depression, or anxiety, or her well-documented stagefright. you name it. so much of her personna is teetering on madness, i began to wonder where she was headed musically.but today my worries we're blown out of the water upon the first listen of this new album. it is really a revelation! quite beautiful typically melancholy bluesy songs, but this time accompanied in some songs by some more layers, including some guest vocal action from ed vedder (from whats that band called?) and even a little dabble of electronica (by way of something out of 1985, mind you).
the first half is a little more uptempo and rocking, and then she slowly reverts back into her shell for some really mind-blowing sad songs near the end. the CD is worth the cash just for "fool," which is probably the most beautiful song she has written to date, and also "speak to me," which could easily sound like a song from someone less talented but more pop/rock-orientated like sheryl crow. but she really avoids any kind of cliche. the song has a multi-layered vocal track-throughout, with a really great and haunting piano sample. check out the track "free" also, as it is one of the weirdest and most unlikely songs she has ever done (much like "american flag" on moon pix).
i have to say though, that her strongest work is painfully simple, usually just her soft strumming a guitar, and her famously disjointed and tearful voice slithering around. the warren ellis violin backdrop for the song "werewolf" is quite appropriate, adding just another layer of tearjerk to her patented blend of blues chanteuse.
it is really just a great album...there's no way around it. if only more musicians can be so invested in their craft. we should be happy to have the few chan marshalls out there that there are. she is a true artist and goddamned original.
Free Music Review: Marvelously subtle, quiet, evocative music
Hit: 5 Stars
I've really come to love this album, though I'll confess it was slow to grow on me. For once thing, if you are in the mood for something upbeat and energetic, this isn't going to be your album. It is quiet, somber, reflective, minimalistic. There are albums that have gripped me on a first hearing, but more often than not they tend to fade in appeal as time goes by. This is a "difficult" album, but once you penetrate the apparent lack of diversity and instead the come to appreciate the subtle variations from one song to another, it can possess at a far deeper level than more accessible but ultimately more superficial ones.
This is music stripped down to essentials. I have been alternatively listening to this and a superb Teenage Fan Club album, and while I love both, the differences between the two couldn't be starker. Teenage Fan Club hates empty space, to the extent of layering sound upon sound to produce a many layered, astonishingly dense result. Chan Marshall, the artist who is Cat Power, not only is comfortable with silence within the music, she seems to quietly cultivate it. Her songs are filled with spaces, and adds in new strands of sound only hesitatingly. If a piano, a single guitar, and a backing vocal get the job done, why add in drums or bass? Or even get rid of the guitar or piano. The only way for the album to get any sparser would be for Marshall to sing the whole thing a capella. The effect of all this is to focus all the attention on the lyrics and the emotions Marshall is evoking. The result sometimes feels almost more like confessional therapy than music, an attempt to put raw emotional experience into a form in which it can be confronted and absorbed.
I couldn't recommend this album more strongly for listeners who are patient and comfortable with subtle music that reveals its treasures only slowly.