jukebox released on january 22 by cat power (aka chan marshall, pronounced "shawn") takes the concept of the cover album to a new level.  what makes this album of cover songs more important than others lies in cat power's ability to transform, modernize and make relevant standards by bob dylan, james brown and frank sinatra, among others.

so now you may be asking yourself, why would i care about listening to recomposed  standards when i am already so familiar with the old versions?  listen to the first track, "new york" and you will understand.  the version of "new york" appearing on jukebox is so unique to her style and signature that it only slightly resembles the more familiar sinatra classic.

if you have the opportunity to see her live: do it!  she will be in los angeles february 29 and then australia the first two weeks of march.  check out her full line-up of current tour dates here.  i saw her a few months ago, let me  warn you, her live shows are not what i would call traditionally typical.  she apologized for her performance and restarted a few songs midway through (she's known for this) and was obsessed with her sound monitor the entire show (there could have been a technical problem).  she claimed stage fright, but i believe it's a testament to the sincere passion and honesty she has for her art.

if you notice below, cat power was kind enough to allow listeners to preview jukebox on the internet, just click play.  don't forget, the album cover image on the upper right of the screen links to sample songs, the band's image on the lower right links to their website.

as always, please buy this album at your local independent music store and not from retailers like wal-mart (soulless global homogenizers) or i-tunes (albums should be listened to as an entire composition with album cover and liner notes in hand).

cat power rocks.

if you agree, please spread the word (about the band and this site).

jason

don't worry if you missed the here come the 123s review from last week: here it is.

matador records


matador records