Cat Power - 'You Are Free' (2003)

Versions:

LP

CD

Tracklisting:

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. Baby Doll

10. Maybe Not

11. Names

12. Half Of You

13. Keep On Runnin'

14. Evolution

Best Tracks:

Good Woman

Maybe Not

I Don't Blame You

Fool

Currently listening to: LP

I'm going to try and keep this one sane, but be warned: I deeply, deeply love Cat Power. I hold her records very close to my heart. Lord knows, they've put my heart back together on more than one occasion. If I could somehow transform her records into human form, I would marry this human in a heartbeat. And, we would live happily ever after. I fucking love Cat Power.

I first heard her around that time that You Are Free came out. My best mate had heard 'I Don't Blame You' on local radio and made me listen it. I loved the song and became very interested in finding out more about who this Cat Power was. A week or two later, I saw 'Cross Bones Style' on rage (while Yeah Yeah Yeahs were hosting. Don't ask me how I remember that...) and was, again, impressed. After a discussion on the Magic Dirt forum (remember when forums were a thing?!) with a few people about Cat Power. I asked which album would be best to start with. Adalita herself recommended I get Moon Pix. So, I did.

Moon Pix didn't grab me immediately. I'm not sure why, it's brilliant. I liked it, but I didn't fall head over heels in love with it like I did with You Are Free (though, I did later). I bought You Are Free when Cat Power announced a solo show at The Gov in 2004. I was keen to check her out, and figured that she'd be playing new songs, so got the album. Now, this was exactly what I was after. Then I saw her live. She was quite something. The music was sparse, and often songs would bleed into one another, but it had quite an effect. Less, in this case, was definitely more. And, that voice. The two main times I remember being completely blown away by a voice at a show were the first time I saw PJ Harvey and the first time I saw Cat Power. Her voice seemed to come through the speakers and pierce my chest. After that, I was completely besotted. Ten years later, that love is stronger than ever.

You Are Free is the album that made me fall so madly in love with Cat Power. At the time, I think it was her most accessible record. And, while Cat Power's music may be mellow, it is by no means easy listening. The album kicks off with three of it's strongest tracks. The lament of 'I Don't Blame You', which she recently revealed was about Kurt Cobain (though, really, that comes as no surprise), the optimistic 'Free', and the devastatingly beautiful 'Good Woman'. The latter features a children's choir, Eddie Vedder on backing vocals (which, frankly, it could do without) and Warren Ellis on violin. The result is stunning. 'Speak For Me', 'He War' and 'Shaking Paper' show that Chan Marshall's usually spare song-writing and production can easily sustain - even, benefit from - a bit of beefing up (and these three are, actually, not unlike 2012's Sun). The album winds down with a selection of beautiful solo songs. The Covers Record seems to have given Chan the confidence to expand her repertoire on the piano, and we treated to 'Maybe Not', 'Evolution', and the chilling 'Names' - along with the aforementioned 'I Don't Blame You'.

You Are Free is probably the quintessential Cat Power album. Though, I may be not be the best judge - when I first heard The Greatest, I didn't think anyone would go for it. Yet, it turned out to be one of her most successful records. I remember trying to get a friend into Cat Power around the time that The Greatest came out, and urged him to listen to You Are Free instead. He did. And didn't like Cat Power until he heard The Greatest. So, there you go. For me, however, You Are Free encapsulates Cat Power better than any of her other records. Which is not to say that her other records aren't as good, nor is You Are Free necessarily her best (though, it's possibly close), but it's certainly a good place to start. It is one hell of a fucking record.