Entertainment

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, January 21, 2008 Cat Power reworks greats, makes them her own Andy Rathbun, Herald Columnist Chan Marshall once told an interviewer her favorite things are cooking, kids, animals and falling in love. It's a bit surprising she chose such plainly happy things, and a bit odd she left music off that list. The indie chanteuse, who records under the name Cat Power, has released two cover albums. The first, a 2000 release called -- yes -- "The Covers Album," included her aching takes on heavyweights such as the Rolling Stones, among others. On Tuesday, she's set to release cover album No. 2. Like its predecessor, the album, "Jukebox," shows Marshall can take just about any type of song -- country, rock, jazz, soul -- funnel it through her sad, bluesy voice and claim it as her own. Marshall gives each of these tracks a sepia tone, delivering them through the bottom of a whiskey glass in a deadbeat club. While it clearly isn't a happy sound, it is an accomplishment. Like any cover album that remakes the greats, there's a certain amount of dare to "Jukebox." Marshall is tackling the work primarily of vocalists: People such as Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin and Johnny Cash, all as well known, if not better known, for their singing as they are for their songwriting. It's a little amazing, then, that Marshall can take a track like Joplin's "A Woman Left Lonely," and temporarily erase the memory of its original singer. Marshall pulls off the feat by peeling away instruments, stripping almost everything. Gone are the lush strings from Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain," replaced instead by a simple piano and some weak-hearted drums. Jessie Mae Hemphill's "Lord, Help the Poor and Needy" loses its jangly tambourine, instead carried along by a guitar and Marshall's own lustrous voice. Marshall sometimes misses something important in her translation. "Silver Stallion," a minor hit for the country supergroup the Highwaymen, was far from a perfect song, but the original had a muscular and rebellious ramble to it, thanks in part to Johnny Cash's delivery. Marshall's take inches along, duller and little improved. Still, that's an exception. Marshall's soulful voice is a perfect fit for "Aretha, Sing One for Me." On that track, a standout, she tacks on some more instruments; along with guitar, an organ whines through the chorus. Most of these covers are neither helped nor hurt by Marshall's reworking. She doesn't improve on, say, Bob Dylan's "I Believe in You," or the Frank Sinatra-popularized classic, "New York, New York." She does, however, make each her own, which, in its way, is a bit amazing. Also of note Hey, look everyone, ska's back! Hi, ska! Already a hit in his native England, Jack Penate takes the trip overseas Tuesday with the scheduled debut of "Matinee," an album that also pulls in traditional pop and hints of rockabilly. "Have I Been a Fool?" -- the best track here and worth its dollar download -- is able to distill Penate's white-boy reggae delivery into an engaging trot that's backed by clean guitar and bouncing piano. Other singles, such as the upbeat "Spit at Stars," aren't helped by lame lyrics. And the skipping ska guitar that anchors "Torn on the Platform" has a joyful feel to it that, sadly, wears thin as an old hoodie after a couple of listens. Overall, the record suffers from the sameness that smacks down most ska revivals. Penate, a skillful songwriter for being 22 years old, is not quite skillful enough to breathe new life into these styles. Writer Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com. Learn more Cat Power, "Jukebox," (Matador Records) on Tuesday Jack Penate, "Matinee," (XL Recordings) on Tuesday

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