| | Cat Power Greatest CD Cat Power Discography of CDs
 (5 Customer Reviews)
Chan Marshall's gorgeous, evocative albums as Cat Power have gained even more critical and popular attention than her idiosyncratic on-stage behavior (and that's saying quite a bit). MOON PIX (1998) and YOU ARE FREE (2004), the two albums of all-original material preceding 2006's THE GREATEST, were spellbinding affairs that pitted Marshall's haunting voice against a stirring mélange of spare, low-key indie rock and atmospheric balladry. THE GREATEST, however, one of Marshall's most focused and impressive efforts, surpasses those two superb albums.
The album is characterized by elaborate horn and string arrangements and a warm, polished feel, much of which stems from the old-school Memphis soul musicians Marshall has backing her (guitarist Teenie Hodges and bassist Leroy Hodges, both of Al Green fame, appear, as does MGs replacement drummer Steve Potts, among others). The sweet, earthy sheen may lack some of the raggedness that pleased Marshall's indie fans, yet the artist has lost none of her incisive songwriting ability, whether on moving narratives (the title track), countrified lopes ("Could We"), or spare meditations on loneliness ("Where is My Love"). More immediately accessible that previous Cat Power releases, THE GREATEST is no less distinctive or engaging: it sounds less like selling out than buying in.
Cat Power: Chan Marshall (vocals, guitar, piano); Mabon "Teenie" Hodges (guitar); David Smith , Leroy Hodges (bass instrument); Steve Potts (drums).
Additional personnel: Doug Easley (guitar, pedal steel guitar); Roy Brewer (violin); Beth Luscone (viola); Johnathan Kirkscey (cello); Jim Spake (saxophone); Scott Thompson (trumpet); Rick Steff (piano, organ, keyboards).
Rolling Stone (p.60) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[U]nsettling but intimate....[A]n album full of bittersweet love and tiny pleasures."
Rolling Stone (p.103) - Ranked #6 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "[S]he cuts deep soul with Memphis session men..."
Spin (p.62) - Ranked #07 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "An R&B album recorded in Memphis with soul-session greats..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.p.80) - "Marshall recorded the album in Memphis with songwriters and musicians who've worked with the likes of Al Green....She's inching her way toward expressiveness..." - Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly (p.131) - Ranked #9 in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Records Of 2006" -- "[A] conflicted, haunting masterpiece."
Q (p.121) - Ranked #37 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[A] career-defining triumph..."
Uncut (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his is the real thing: a shy, emotionally naked white girl finding common cause with her region's neglected musical greats, delivering an album of perilous depth....An understated masterpiece."
Magnet (pp.88-89) - "[Marshall] brings sound and sentiment together on 'The Moon,' an understated evocation of loneliness."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.116) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "For all their intimacy, there is still something otherworldly about these songs....By putting some warm flesh on her musical bones, Chan Marshall is punching her considerable songwriting weight....THE GREATEST lives up to its gold-plated name." Greatest Music | List Price | $13.97 (You save $2.38) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Rock CDs, Lo Fi | | Label | Matador (record label) | | Orig Year | 2006 | | All Time Sales Rank |  8463  | | CD Universe Part number | 7011322 | | Catalog number | 626 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Jan 24, 2006 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Personnel | David Smith
David Smith
Steve Potts - drums
Leroy Hodges - bass instrument
Chan "Cat Power" Marshall - vocals, guitar, piano
Also: Roy Brewer, Jim Spake, Rick Steff, Scott Thompson, Doug Easley, Beth Luscone, Johnathan Kirkscey | | Additional Info | Bonus Track |
Greatest Music Review Average Rating: (3 out of 5 stars)   The OK
The Greatest is the first is the first album I have heard from Cat Power. Has a Mazzy Star sound to it. I Liked the sparce sound with a touch of Nashville.
Submitted by Don (Mentz, Texas) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
Great Album!
Shes a brilliant artist, so it´s said!
Why not take a listen before buy it, it feels very odd to even write a review to tell how bad something is! What a lousy taste, did you buy it cause of the art work, or?
Submitted by lars (Sweden)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  let down...
Before I had listened to The Greatest, I was a loyal Cat Power fan. I liked the rawness of her sound and the depth and beauty of her lyrics. But The Greatest did not have that rawness or depth about it that I had grown to love. Instead it was a polished, fairly simple, conservative sounding album. It doesn't give me goosebumps like dear sir or moonpix does, and certainly does not inspire me to purchase her next album. What a shame...
Submitted by emmarussack (Australia)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
Dreamy
Cat Power rocks my world...very quietly though. Knowing she was recording with a full band, I was expecting a little more "volume" with this record. Not so...but believe me, I'm not disappointed. This is a quality record. "The Moon" is one of the prettiest songs I've heard in awhile.
Submitted by jasono1 (Milwaukee, WI)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No  What is this crap?
When I first heard the artist's name, I thought the music would be pretty bad. Oh how I was wrong, this album sucks. I would rather listen to a cat being put through a meat grinder. Sounds just like Feist and Norah Jones, both of which also suck. If you want a good female vocalist, listen to Portishead, or Blue lines by massive attack. Cat power is not the greatest nor the worst, it is the absolute worst!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by Go Flames Go! (Calgary, AB, Canada)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 4 found this helpful.
| Have you heard this album? |  |
Purchase Greatest CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | VH1 Presents The Corrs Live In Dublin CD (2002)
Greatest album
 $6.39  
This audio document of The Corrs' Dublin homecoming concert has pretty much everything fans of Irish pop could wish for, including an appearance from Bono in his earthly incarnation, fresh from an audience with President George W. Bush. It's to the band's credit that the charismatic singer fails to steal the show, despite creditable efforts via an anthemized version of Ryan Adams' beautifully downtempo "When the Stars Go Blue," and a great, leering rendition of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's "Summer ...
| | Cat Power You Are Free CD (2003)
Greatest CD music
$10.15 
The first album in four years from Chan Marshall, one of the premier female singer-songwriters of our generation. This album explores the world of relationships and fame. Catchy, intense, and beguiling. Gatefold paper sleeve. Matador. 2003.
If catharsis is the name of the game, then Cat Power (AKA Chan Marshall) handily achieves this goal with YOU ARE FREE, her first studio album of original material since 1998's MOON PIX. She's a master at making more out of less, and to say Marshall's arrangements are sparse is an understatement. That said, songs like "Maybe Not" ...
| | Arcade Fire Funeral CD (2004)
Greatest music CDs
$11.89 
This Montreal ensemble's fiery debut is marked by surging guitars, soulful strings, driving drums, brilliant bass lines, and the quavering vocals of married couple Win Butler and Regine Chassagne. The group's song structures careen through a vast territory of musical and personal history, with lyrics warm with memories of childhood neighborhoods and deceased loved ones, resulting in an alternating current of joy and sadness.
Favorably compared to the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Broken Social Scene, the Arcade Fire's sound seems to come from a lifetime of listening to the Cure, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and many others--even a dose of soul gets worked into these grand anthems. Chassagne delivers some spellbinding vocals on "Haiti," while the tinkling piano and strings ...
| | Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning CD (2005)
Greatest songs
$11.25
In early 2005, young indie icon Conor Oberst (AKA Bright Eyes) unveiled two full-length albums--I'M WIDE AWAKE, IT'S MORNING and DIGITAL ASH IN A DIGITAL URN. Whereas the latter proved to be a departure into electronic music, the former sticks to Oberst's established sound, which combines the urgency and heart-on-the-sleeve sentiment of emo-rock with twangy, down-home feel of alt-country and folk music.
I'M WIDE AWAKE begins with Oberst telling a story that morphs into "At the Bottom of Everything," a jangly, upbeat tune featuring My Morning Jacket's Jim James on backing vocals. Throughout the record, Oberst reaches nearly hysterical peaks, seemingly overcome with emotion as his wavering voice, which often ...
| | Iron & Wine In The Reins CD (2005)
Greatest album
$8.85
Two indie-rock acts with remarkably devoted followings and a shared innate talent for creating dusty rural atmospheres, ...
| | Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings The Flood CDs (2006) Digipak
Greatest CD music
$13.49
On this assured and inventive outing, Case does not disappoint, as she revisits the haunting atmosphere of earlier offerings, but also broadens her sound. Incorporating elements of country, early rock & roll, and moody film scores, Case creates a fascinatingly anachronistic aesthetic, evoking some enigmatic lost era with songs such as the lilting "Star Witness," the soulful "John Saw That Number," and the ominously orchestral "Dirty Knife." While Case--with her bold, sensual, and dynamic voice--is clearly the main attraction of FOX CONFESSOR, the record also features an impressive supporting cast, including the Band's Garth Hudson (piano, organ), Giant Sand's Howe Gelb (guitar, piano), and members of Calexico and the Sadies. For longtime Case fans, the album will only increase adulation, while those unfamiliar with this unique performer will ...
| | Syd Barrett Madcap Laughs CD (1970)
Greatest music CDs
$7.16 
When Syd Barrett departed Pink Floyd for a solo career after (minimally) contributing to A SAUCER FULL OF SECRETS in 1969, expectations naturally ran high. Aside from being Floyd's primary songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Barrett had already developed the reputation for being a twisted child prodigy. Taking a turn away from Floyd's complex layered psychedelia, Barrett's solo debut, MADCAP LAUGHS, revealed the singer/songwriter to be a somewhat gentle, reflective poet. Although MADCAP is not as lyrically obscure as most of Barrett's work with Floyd, the album nonetheless proves that Barrett could mutate a simple love song ("Love You," "She Took a Long Cold Look") past the realm of the expected into something chilling.
The ...
| | Jose Feliciano And The Sun Will Shine... CD (1998)
Greatest songs
$18.09 
Although this CD might be harder to find and more expensive than American compilations on RCA, it makes a reasonable choice as the best Feliciano anthology. That's mostly because there's a lot of music here from his mid-'60s to mid-'70s prime, including 24 tracks and a whopping 78 minutes. With someone like Feliciano, who recorded so prolifically in that decade alone, there's bound to be some quibbling about what was selected. But it does have most of his chart singles, including "Light My Fire," "Hi-Heel Sneakers," "Susie-Q," "Marley Purt Drive," "Chico and the Man," "And the Sun Will Shine" (a U.K. hit though not a U.S. one), and "Feliz Navidad," though the low-charting "My World Is Empty Without You" and "The Star Spangled Banner" didn't make the cut. Although the non-chart items here are erratic, they do give an idea of his versatility and wide repertoire, encompassing covers of the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Ray Charles, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Gram Parsons, and Nilsson, the arrangements veering from the rather spare and folky to over-orchestrated lush MOR. Most notably for collectors, there are three late-'60s songs that were hits only in Australia (and, oddly, never even released in America), those being "Adios Amour," "Girl (You'll Never Get Away from Me)," and "A Point of View." The last two of those are Feliciano originals, "A Point of View" being a plea for interracial tolerance very much in keeping with ...
| | Ox4: The Best Of Ride CD (2002) (Import) United Kingdom
Greatest album
$22.35
While many of the British shoegazer bands of the early 1990s adopted Phil Spector's "wall of sound" approach, none ever quite managed to couple tornado-like guitars with such astonishingly delicate melodies as Oxford, England's Ride. Channeling a '60s pop sensibility through heavy distortion, they were the sonic equivalent of a raging sandstorm seen through a filigree window.
This best-of collection cherry-picks from the band's four studio albums and numerous singles, including "Chelsea Girl," an early example of the quartet's compressed energy and blind enthusiasm packed into an outstanding three-minute pop song. Diving into longer song structures, the band builds "Dreams Burn Down" on a foundation of roiling feedback through which Andy Bell's guitar breaks like shafts of light, while "Vapour Trail," features a string section that enhances the song's already-expansive sound. This compilation's centerpiece is the magnificent "Leave ...
| | Most Serene Republic CD (2005) (Import) Canada
Greatest CD music
$12.89
| | Bauhaus Instant Live: Wiltern LG - Los Angeles, Ca, 10/28/05 CDs (2006)
Greatest music CDs
$21.89
| | Amir John Haddad Pasando Por Tabernas CD (2006)
Greatest songs
$13.25
| | Journey Live In Houston 1981: Escape Tour CD (2006)
Greatest album
$9.59
| | Rappin Mathematician Rappin' Mathematician Vol. 2-Multiplication Nation CD (2007)
Greatest CD music
$25.29
| | Russill Paul Shakti: Tantric Embrace CD (2008)
Greatest music CDs
$9.79
| | Edith Piaf Siecle D'Or CDs (2008) (Import) Import
Greatest songs
$31.89
Track Listing of songs: Les mômes de la cloche; La Java de cézigue; Les Hiboux; J'suis mordue; Mon légionnaire; L'Accordéoniste; Je ne veux plus laver la vaisselle; Y'a pas d'printemps; De l'autre ...
|
|
|
buttons below to play song samples
Adobe Flash
Email a Friend
