The Greatest (LP)
VINYL FORMAT. Recorded at Memphis, TN's Ardent Studios over the summer by Stuart Sikes, The Greatest while the most confident and life-affirming work of Chan Marshall's career, is as intensely personal, haunting and provocative as any of its predecessors. The album's players are a bona fide All-Star team of Memphis musicians, including Al Green sideman Teenie Hodges on guitar, Leroy "Flick" Hodges and David Smith on bass, Rick Steff on keys, Jim Spake on sax and trumpteer Scott Thompson amongst others.
| Tracklisting | |
| Disk | 1 | |
| 1 | The Greatest |
| 2 | Living Proof |
| 3 | Lived in Bars |
| 4 | Could We |
| 5 | Empty Shell |
| 6 | Willie |
| 7 | Where Is My Love |
| 8 | The Moon |
| 9 | Islands |
| 10 | After It All |
| 11 | Hate |
| 12 | Love & Communication |
| 13 | [Unititled] |
| Eric Perkins
- Waltham, MA, USA |
| The Greatest has become my second favorite Cat Power album after You Are Free. This is still saying a lot considering You Are Free is one of my favorite albums ever. Chan Marshall's voice is haunting and beautiful, and she shows off her versatility on this album with some alt-country and almost doo-wop types of songs. But anyone who's seen her live (or tried to see her live) knows Marshall's just not a happy-go-lucky person, and fans will appreciate a break in the lightheartedness of this album with the song "Hate". Who else but Cat Power could make the refrain "I hate myself and want to die" so purty? | |
| Andy Mitchell
- DeKalb, IL, USA |
| Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, has been on my ever increasing list of artists I've heard of and feel like I should have listened to, but until recently hadn't. How her latest album, The Greatest, compares to the rest of her work I cannot say. I know that she went to Memphis to record this album which features legendary session players who have previously worked with Al Green, so this album is apparently a departure from her normal sound, whatever that is. What depresses me is the fact that I did not pick the best record to start to listening to Marshall's music. It certainly sounds nice at first, with her soft and pained vocals supported with a lush arrangement of pianos, horns and guitars. But with the exception of the subtle and beautiful opening title track and the smoldering closer, "Love and Communication," the songs never feel like they come to life, staying on the same groove for the entire song. Instead of creating an album that breathes and lives freely, The Greatest feels like it's stuck in the mud, lulling the listener into complacence. I hope her previous albums speak more to her strengths because her latest certainly does not live up to its name. | |
| shannon ronan
- long island, NY, usa |
| when it comes to chan marshall, people either adore her or cringe at the very purr of her namesake, cat power. something about her mopey demeanor and laidback crooning, leave little room for indifference.
we've all heard the stories. surely, you or someone you know or someone you wish you knew have witnessed one of her infamous on-stage breakdowns during which she stormed off or cried or spent the majority of the show hiding behind a flimsy curtain of hair, attempting the same song nine times in a row without ever getting it "right". well, relax. according to matador, chan has cancelled her recent tour due to mysterious health reasons, which is an absolute shame because the greatest is begging to be performed on stage.
the newest album draws on the same full sound present on you are free, only this time around there are a few new additions, mainly the plethora of instruments, including violin, viola, cello, saxaphone, trumpet! oh and don't forget the bluesy piano and country twanging geetars. it sounds overwhelming, i know. but buried beneath it all, chan's whole sappy lyrics/sultry voice combination remain completely intact. it's a trademark she will always own, no matter how hard beth orton tries.
though the album lacks any obvious standouts for airplay in weird stores like old navy, you might want to get yourself a blanket and some warm apple cider, and indulge in these last days of winter with tracks like empty shell, and the moon. you'd be wise to save songs like after it all for the long lonely haul of summer.
| |
| Aaron Call
- Berlin, MD, USA |
| This is the first Cat Power CD I have heard. I think it is okay but it is not something I would listen to all the time. The songs arent catchy enough for me. The album has a real old folky feel to it. I do think I will buy some of her other album based on this one, but I just dont love this album. | |
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