There's something about the rich melancholy of Chen Marshall's voice that gets me hooked every damn time. Although the simple combination of guitar and vocal can often leave fullness and colour wanting, the addition of more instruments would be an affront to the simple beauty that Marshall achieves with each song she produces. The Covers Record is no different, revealing Cat Power to have a unique skill for understanding and playing other people's music, as well as creating her own. The Covers Record will make you sad in the way that you wish you were sad. The grungy, minimal guitar melodies and rich, roomy piano will weave beautiful things out of your sorrow and Marshall's gentle, crooning alto will lull you out of your insomnia and into a peaceful sleep. (I can't get no) Satisfaction is the slow burning, confidently warm version of Mick Jagger's original track executed with an effortless, live feel. It is repetitive in a way that leaves you wanting more, rather than making you bored. Should you not initially associate the track with the original, you may miss that this is a cover because of Marshall's vastly different interpretation of both the lyrical subject matter and the music itself. In this way, Cat Power introduces us to something that the original writer's seem to have missed, the hollow cravings of a love unreciprocated. The second track is a traditional, breathed to life and made new by a moving and immersive musical take on the folksy material. While the story remains the same, Marshall makes clear the lonely essence of the song, previously lost to us through the inevitable numbing that occurs with over-use. Next is the famously bluesy Troubled Waters, stripped down, of course, to the characteristic echo-ey guitar and soulful vocal. It is the vocal melody that steps into the driver's seat here, and it is here that we get a sense of Marshall's incredible range, in both skill and sensitivity. Sweedeedee is a beautifully honouring interpretation of another folksy original. While a less thoughtful cover may have dwelt on the more obvious aspects of what makes this composition so lovely, Marshall draws out its heart, giving context and colour to the words and melodies written by Michael Hurley many years ago. In This Hole is the only Cat Power original on the album. It is here that we are first introduced to the spacious grand piano sounds that cushion Marshall's honeyish voice. The piano brings a warmth to the atmosphere, and a sure support that sets this song apart. It feels almost improvised in its recording, natural and effortless, as though Marshall's thoughts and feelings are spilling directly from her mind into the air around us as we listen. Lou Reed and Bob Dylan make an appearance on the Covers Record too. Showing Marshall to have accessed a history of great songwriters, and doing each piece the unique justice of extracting its soul, and encasing it in a brand new sound and execution. It's an art form, requiring as much, if not more, originality as the work of creating a brand new composition. Each song is both old and new, and this makes for a unique and immersive listening experience. While there are millions of artists who cover one another, Marshall's approach presents us with a sensitivity and thoughtfulness that is truly beautiful. Cat Power's Cover Record serves as a reminder for me that each songwriter has something unique to communicate. It's proof that musical magic is everywhere, should we keep our hearts and ears attuned to experience it.
