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Dark End of the Street - Cat Power EP Review

Cat Power

EP Review

When Cat Power released Jukebox, her second album of cover songs at the start of 2008, so many gems were discarded on the cutting room floor that at the end of the year they were put together and released as an EP, Dark End of the Street. Depending on your stance, you might consider this to be cashing in on sloppy seconds, or perhaps you admire Chan Marshall's thrift in these turbulent times. Few artists could get away with it, but such is the quality of Marshall's work that her left-overs are better than the crème-de-la-crème produced by most other artists.

Marshall's choice of songs on both Jukebox and Dark End of the Street align her with musical legends such as Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday. Cat Power sits comfortably among such company; her sound belongs more to their era than it does to ours and Marshall makes a fine ambassador.

Cat Power reworks the songs putting her own distinctive stamp on them, rendering them nothing like the originals. Her band Dirty Delta Blues accompany her on this record - they are a troupe of shit-hot musicians poached from bands such as Dirty Three, Delta 72 and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Together they produce a gutsy, bluesy tapestry of sound rich in texture and tone.

At one time, Cat Power was notorious for breaking down in the middle of her live shows, too emotional to continue. In recent years her shows have become more slick and professional (for better or worse), but the emotional depths her vocal performances plunder are evident on Dark End of the Street. The husky vulnerability in Marshall's voice and her total investment in the lyrics she delivers allow her to perform other people's tracks as if they were written with her in mind. The rendition of Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention's Who knows where the time goes is particularly beautiful, a shimmering haunting song with a mellow piano accompaniment. For those familiar with The Greatest, Cat Power's most successful and accessible album to date, expect something more raw and intense from her latest release. Wonderful stuff.

Anna Lord