The Lipster

It takes a brave soul to tackle on the best of Bob Dylan, James Brown and Billie Holiday. But it makes sense that Cat Power would head straight for the big guns, because it’s not the first time she’s done it. On 2000’s Covers Record, she reworked the Rolling Stones to stunning effect, leaving out the entire chorus of Satisfaction and turning it into a desperately personal ode to loneliness. It worked because Chan Marshall had clearly lived it. Seven years on, and Jukebox is partly a sequel to that album, partly a development of The Greatest’s Memphis soul. It works. But only just.

At first Jukebox breezes through like a strident stroll through Chan’s musical heroes, the songs nurtured by love and a sense of kindred spirits. New York, New York sounds nothing like the Sinatra karaoke staple, instead relying on sleepy swing that packs a sneaky punch. But Hank Williams’ Ramblin’ Man (who here becomes a Woman) splutters with soul-lite and doesn’t go very far at all. And here’s the problem.

When Chan wrestles the songs into line, Jukebox is stunning. Ironically, this happens most often when the horn-powered bombast is ditched in favour of simple country-blues strumming. The Highwaymen’s Silver Stallion and Billie Holiday’s Don’t Explain are creepingly beautiful, and feel like new Cat Power tracks – surely the mark of a successful cover.

By comparison, the ghosts of The Greatest seem weaker. The only new material here, Song To Bobby, tells the story of Chan meeting Bob Dylan. It's simple and disappointing. There’s no fire or urgency. Even more unnerving is a re-recording of Metal Heart, from 1998’s much-loved Moonpix. It lays her bare: in covering her own song she’s inviting a direct comparison between Chan then and now. The results are mixed. Reaching for that final, heartbreaking “how selfish of you”, the new Chan’s voice cracks and wavers, struggling to hit the note that she once did. It brings a sadness in the soulful optimism of the music.

But then again, the greats use the weight of life and experience to their advantage, and it’s not like her voice is shot – she’s no Marianne Faithfull. It just throws up the question of what Cat Power will come up with when she releases her next album proper this spring. Covers are a diversion, and, as intriguing as they may be, the big question is now what the next album will be like. If Jukebox is any indication, it could go either way, but if she makes The Greatest part two, it might not live up to its namesake.