The Bottom Line: Like Fiona Apple? Tori Amos? PJ Harvey? Then, it might just be time to check out Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) and her 2003 release You Are Free.
lambchops's Full Review: You Are Free by Cat Power
You Are Free is a simple, yet incredibly complex album.
Immediately inviting, Chan Marshall’s (aka Cat Power) fifth full-length release of new material is a mature album of sparse rock tunes and melancholic piano-driven tracks. You Are Free is a homage to dropping all pretenses and freeing oneself from the past. Marshall insists we live in the day and in the moment rather than dwelling in pain and sorrow. Though even as her lyrics insist listeners free themselves, her voice cries at times in anger and at time in hurt. But with this said, she comes across as an honest and intelligent singer-songwriter.
Marshall’s music isn’t wholly unique. You Are Free is an creative album, but she still is on level with much of the work of contemporaries including PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, and Fiona Apple. But what she brings to her music is a rich, throaty voice and an innate ability to come across wonderfully without overdoing anything. This sparseness will be what either draws listeners in or drives them away. It goes without saying that You Are Free is the work of a burgeoning genius, but it would be nice to occasionally have the opportunity to see Marshall as something besides sad, introspective singer-songwriter.
You Are Free is regardless of lyrical message a depressing album. At the right time and place, it is the perfect soundtrack to life. The fourteen songs are generally evenly paced (aside from the occasional rock break like that in Free) and Marshall penned most of them. The two that she did not write are Werewolf (Michael Hurly, 1970) and Keep On Runnin’ (Crawlin’ Black Spider) (John Lee Hooker, 1977) and while it is brave to tackle such songs, Marshall would have been better off sticking to her own material. Werewolf is hollow and strange and not particularly well fitted to the album as a whole while Keep on Runnin’ (Crawlin’ Black Spider) seems to just go on in no particular direction for what amounts to too long.
The strength of You Are Free is certainly in the emotional delivery and poignant lyrics. When Marshall is on point, she is great. It is hard to not appreciate the opening I Don’t Blame You. That track sets a musical and lyrical tone for the thirteen songs that follow. And for better or for worse, those tracks have to be compared to this gorgeous piano ballad. Marshall is also brilliant on Free, but for a very different reason. She seems to open and rock out. It is precisely what was necessary to make the album something special. If Free didn’t exist, You Are Free would be entirely monotonous and regardless of singing and writing ability it would have lulled every listener to slumber within a few songs.
There are certainly a number of other notable tracks. Good Woman is a fanciful, pensive country-rocker. The fiddle blends wonderfully with the electric guitar driven track. And when Marshall begins singing, so much about the song becomes clear. It is crystalline that she has the power to both entertain and elicit feelings. She also has the gift of music wrapped up in her hands, mouth, and mind. Even in lieu of a haunting chorus of girls and Eddie Vedder’s mumbling, her words are what make Good Woman one of my favorites from the disc.
I will miss your heart so tender
and I will love this love forever
I don’t want to be a bad woman
an I can’t stand to see you be a bad man
But there are others that I love about as much. He War, Speak For Me, Fool and Names are all worth going out of your way to hear. He War is certainly among the album’s best. Marshall is known for opening her wounded soul up for the world to hear, and in the case of He Man she does so with a drum-heavy though still sparse rock track. It works well, and in the all of You Are Free it is one of the two most accessible tracks. The other easily digestible track is Speak For Me. The two songs have something in common besides the quickened pace. Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) makes an appearance on both on drums. He also functions as bassist on Speak For Me.
Fool and Names aren’t quite as accessible as those unusually fast and heavier songs. Fool is a haunting, resonant, and light song. On the outermost layer, it is repetitive. But as Marshall sings, the cyclical melody wraps itself tautly around the soul. Names is good for an entirely different reason. She gets to the point quickly…the song is about loss and pain and childhood trauma. Marshall speaks pretty directly about the ills of beatings, sexual abuse, smoking crack, and eleven-year-olds having sex. While I find the themes to be laughable (such things are painful in real life, but in the context of most songs the message comes across as preachy), the melody and performance are good. Just ignore the words.
You Are Free is an overall very good album. If it wasn’t for the fact that Marshall seems to be clinically depressed despite proclaiming her freedom from such matters of the past, and this leaks over into the overall quality of the Matador release. There is no question that Cat Power has what it takes to be a respected singer-songwriter. In fact, she has already earned such honors in certain arenas. She just needs to stop taking herself so seriously and loosen up (as she did on both Free and He Man.
This is her fifth studio release (sixth if you count the 2000’s aptly titled The Covers Record). Chan (pronounced “Shawn”) Marshall has gained an increasing amount of respect over the last few years and dedicated fans waited patiently for five long years for the release of You Are Free. Compared to Moon Pix, it is a slight disappointment but then again not every album can be perfect. You Are Free is a worthy listen but much of the disc is monotonous…one style, one pace, one feeling. Fans of singer-songwriters should pick it up, but also make sure to pop your Prozac before throwing it into the stereo.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. I Don't Blame You
2. Free
3. Good Woman
4. Speak for Me
5. Werewolf
6. Fool
7. He War
8. Shaking Paper
9. Babydoll
10. Maybe Not
11. Names
12. Half of You
13. Keep on Runnin' (Crawlin' Black Spider)
14. Evolution
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