Cat Power is one of the finest interpreters of song in existence.
As a songwriter, her lyrics often probe the darker elements in her life, learning to illuminate these with beatific light; but it’s also the way she carries this material, the emotional impact behind her voice, that allows these projects dominate your mind.
New album ‘Covers’ is out now, her first full length release in four years. Completed in 2020 and then frozen by the pandemic, the album is a space for Cat Power – Chan Marshall – to dwell inside, exploring some of her favourite songs.
Incorporating work penned by everyone from Jackson Browne to Nick Cave, Frank Ocean to Lana Del Rey, ‘Covers’ is actually her third selection of cover versions, following 2000’s ‘The Covers Record’ and 2008’s ‘Jukebox’. What marks this project, however, is the growth in Chan Marshall’s voice, and the ongoing evolution in her techniques as a vocalist.
It’s also flat-out a good listen: a series of wonderful songs, given a refreshing treatment, often stark but then often not.
Clash spoke to Cat Power over Zoom, with the camera off at her request; “It feels really unnatural. Never in the world do you have a conversation and look directly at someone’s face!”
Over the course of our conversation, we’d explore her glorious new album, the life-changing impact of motherhood, and her writing ambitions.
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Congratulations on the new album, which is wonderful. How do you feel right now?
Thank you! I’m just glad that it’s finally got to be birthed, because it was locked in a block of ice for the whole pandemic. I was planning to do videos and press and all this stuff in 2020and then everything just came to a screeching halt. So I’m thrilled!
Does that give you more time to live inside the record? Do you have a different perspective now?
Oh no, it’s exactly as it needed to be. And that’s all! (giggles)
This isn’t the first covers project you’ve tackled, what is it about being the interpreter of a song that grabs your attention as an artist?
Some of my favourite songs of all time – there’s probably 200 of them – I’d say half of ‘em are themselves covers. Some of the greatest songs, in my opinion, that have been recorded are not the singer’s songs… they’re someone else’s songs. From the standards to blues to folk, even bluegrass, even reggae – the whole history of music before the 80s – I feel like there was more of a sense of community per genre. Jazz, for example. Even in indie rock, people go on tour with each other! Knowing people from all different bands. It’s just normal that I would want to sing other people’s songs because they are so many amazing songs by other people. And it’s normal. Everybody knows a covers band down at the pub!
The other night I went into town for my 50th birthday, and there’s this place near where I live and every Sunday night they have different kinds of covers bands. They have The Police, Bob Marley… separate bands! And each one is a different covers act. It’s hard to answer questions about my third covers record, because since MTV, since all these pop stars, people don’t cover each other’s songs any more! It’s becoming more popular since Bryan Ferry and Chrissie Hynde doing Dylan and Sinatra records. But way back, you had Dylan, Otis Redding, the Stones’ first record, everybody always sang each other’s songs.
There’s just something you get from it. Five billion people could listen to ‘Imagine’ right now at the same time but never ever cross paths with one another; but they would all be sharing this strange untranslatable vibration that exists in song. It’s so powerful.
It’s interesting returning to those earlier covers record, and hearing how your voice has changed. Do you feel that? Do you feel more comfortable, for example, with your voice as you’ve grown more experienced in using it?
Well, when I was a little kid… I was raised by my grandmother from when I was one day old until I was four and a half. I lost her at the top of the pandemic, so I’ve only realised this since this whole time when I haven’t been able to call her. I’ve been at home everyday. She was my best friend. I realised during the pandemic, when I cooking all these meals for my son… I didn’t want to go out to the grocery store, so I was using up everything in my cupboard! So I realised that, damn! That’s where I learned to sing, from my grandma. She would just always love to sing! And I never put it into perspective. I always thought I learned to sing when I went to church with her. Singing hymns, and things like that. I realised during the pandemic that I learned to sing because I was just at her apron, helping her peel potatoes and cut carrots.
So to answer your question, I’d see my father play in bands, and then my friends would play in bands, and then I started playing in bands – playing drums, playing guitar. And then starting to sing – privately, in my room, and my room-mate hearing me, and laughing at me… My grandmother would tapes of me when I was like six, seven, eight – she’d tell me to sing these songs, and get me to record it. I’m imitate these singers – like Dolly Parton. It was fun because it was fun to be good at something. It was fun for me to be an imitator. I loved music! Long story short, when I started to sing my own songs, I just could not sing. I couldn’t sing at all. The words were so traumatising for me to experience the memories behind the lyrics I was writing. They were real things. It wasn’t just a song from my Dad’s record collection or something, it was my words, my memories. It was traumatising to sing.
And then in 2006 I went to rehab, got sober, and saw the world again. I went to therapy, and I realised that I am safe, and I can make better decisions, and I don’t have to be afraid of fear. I went and was rehearsing with Teenie Hodges. When I went onstage with him for that first show, it was the first time I wasn’t holding a guitar, or playing a piano, and I had to see the audience for the first time – I’d never seen them before! I’d hide behind my hair, or my guitar and my piano. And then it hit me that, wow, I’m actually singing! I’d never realised that I was a singer until then. But then Teenie fell ill, so I created a new band, the Dirty Delta Blues Band. That first rehearsal for ‘The Greatest’ tour, all we did was James Brown, Tina Turner, Bessie Smith… we just did covers! And then we went out and played the tour. There were so many covers that we had been doing that I went to my label – again – and said, please can we do this record? And that record, and touring with them… that’s the year my voice broke. Back to when I was a little kid.
I definitely am not the greatest singer, but being able to sing with joy? That’s what Teenie taught me. And I owe him so much for teaching me that. He put joy into ‘The Greatest’ – it’s a super suicidal record, but he put joy into it. And that’s how I am now, due to Teenie’s input into my life.
The version of ‘Bad Religion’ by Frank Ocean on the new record is incredible, you’ve really put your own stamp on it. Do you remember when that song first made an impact on you?
Absolutely, absolutely. I had followed Odd Future a little bit when they came out. I couldn’t find the opportunity to see them live, it was really frustrating. And then I saw Frank Ocean had released his own record, and it was like time stood still. The first song I heard was ‘Bad Religion’ and something had happened to me in the 90s which was – literally, verbatim – about me jumping into a cab and begging the driver to get me out of here. It was really moving. When a song hits you, it just hits you. It really moved me.
What guides your arrangement, then? What is the process behind the way you shift the parts around?
So, I was on tour for the ‘Wanderer’ record, and there’s a song on that called ‘In Your Face’. The lyrics are about the white 1% that rule the Earth, pretty much. I was getting very angry inside my body, singing those lyrics. It’s a real quiet song. I didn’t want it to be quiet, y’know? The way it made me feel made me feel so bad. So I pulled the lyrics from ‘Bad Religion’ and started singing it on the ‘Wanderer’ tour. It morphed from ‘In Your Face’ to that song. And that’s how it was recorded.
Some versions are more faithful than others. Your take on ‘These Days’ is reminiscent of Nico’s version, but still deeply affecting.
Well songs that sounds straight on the record – ‘These Days’, ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ – those straight guitar songs, are because Erik Paparazzi was playing those songs straight. On tour, I asked him if he could play ‘These Days’ and he started playing it. Same with ‘It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels’. So he played that, too. They sound straight because he’s playing those. But with the Pogues’ one, I was actually going to do ‘Dirty Old Town’ or ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’ but I hadn’t even got to that point, thinking about which one.
It kept coming on my car stereo, from and to work, and I was like: OK, I’ve got to fucking do this or I’ll lose it! So I ran in, got the Mellotron, and it sounds straight in that way because I had no fucking idea what I was doing! – The other songs, that don’t sound necessarily straight, it because on the first day of recording I wanted the whole band to relax. I wanted them to relax, so I asked Erik: could you play something? Then I’d ask the other musicians to play different bits, guiding them from the mic. I’d get to the recording booth, check the tape was rolling, and then I’d just go into a song. The first one we did was ‘Against The Wind’. I’d just jump out, speak to the band, and then jump back in. We did other songs that aren’t on the record, too.
Are you perfectionist with your vocal?
No, no no no no no no. Uh-uh. In my opinion, the best thing you do is the first thing you do. Whether it’s painting or writing a poem, your first instinct is the best. ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ was two takes. Once I have the meat and the potatoes, I can get to work. And start carving! And working on the dressing, and the sauce.
I love that metaphor. Is cooking a bit part of your life?
Absolutely. It’s probably the greatest thing in life besides music. Being alive, enjoying food with people you love. That’s why I’m so fat!
That’s nonsense, Chan!
Fat with joy! (laughs)
Your own song ‘Hate’ becomes ‘Unhate’ on this record – what drew you to return to that song?
I had been touring solo in 2013, 2014. I had been playing ‘Hate’ every night, and when I found out I was pregnant I just instinctively, unthinkingly started to change the lyrics. The lyrics were just changed.
Motherhood is a life-changing event, did it change the way you view art and performance?
Definitely. I think that without hesitating, without knowing it’s happening to you, you just become much more fearless. Instinctively. It just happens to you, in that way. As far as writing… I don’t get to write as much. During the pandemic… I’ve got a piano and guitars, but even when he was a baby he’d cry if I went to play something. He’d always cry! And he told me during the pandemic. He’s yell for me to stop playing during the pandemic, and I’d be like: well, that’s not very nice, you’ve got your chores and I’ve got mine! And he said: no, mom, I hate beautiful music because it makes me sad.
So during the pandemic I haven’t really been making music. I’ve just been enjoying keeping me and my son safe. – I mean, there’s been a couple spurts. One day I got my typewriter out, and wrote 12 pages of whatever. But writing music, writing songs, there’s a few… but my concentration has been on the day to day. Making sure that my son is healthy, and happy, and safe. And my dog’s are safe, and we’re not getting sick. My focus hasn’t been on writing songs during the pandemic at all.
Would you write something else, then? Like a memoir, or fiction, or poetry?
Yeah. All of that! With that kind of thing… the arts aren’t funded in the United States, they just don’t believe in or support young minds. They have a lot of grants – I can’t just write a book. I would need to be able to have a non-interrupted life for about three weeks. No humans. Here, you can do a writer’s retreat. But you need a grant, get these people to vouch for you as a writer. But I’ve got, like, six typewriters, and I know I could pull it together. Working on this record, doing the things I need to do for my personal life, as a single parent and also doing the things I need to do as a partner in this record.
I’ve got to be responsible. But I’d love to write a book! I already know what it would be about! But there’s no money in rock ‘n’ roll, you know what I mean? The women showed up, and all of a sudden there’s no more money in rock ‘n’ roll… and there’s no more rock ‘n’ roll in rock ‘n’ roll! But, one day.
Has time away from touring been beneficial to you? Or did you yearn for that sense of connection?
It’s definitely been beneficial. I think the coolest thing I’ve done as a parent has been teaching my son to read and write, and to do math. Those two years – he turned five and six – I was able to teach him, and I feel like that’s a great achievement.
I got a job offer last August, and I went on tour opening up for Garbage and Alanis Morrissette, all around America. It was 30 minutes solo, y’know. I wasn’t on the bill as the other opening act cancelled. It reminded me of the early days. And it was beautiful to be around people again, and to be alone in that environment, but this time knowing who I was so what the fuck did I care anyway? When I was younger maybe my strength was: I need to do these songs, and that’s what I need to do, whether people are listening to me or not! It was what I needed to do, like an itch I needed to scratch. But now, being older, and enjoying being around people, I was so chill, so relaxed. I had great shows. Like, consistently – every night. I had a great time. And that’s unusual.
I’ve always been super brutal on myself and my performances. Maybe that’s OCD or super perfectionist, but an artist is always the best judge of what they do. I think an artist is the best judge of what they do in the moment that they do it. So maybe I am a little too perfectionist, but it’s warmed me up to not be so hard on myself. And that’s so important for artists and for women, as well – especially when we get older. We’re wildly beautiful in our hearts. Most of my friends are women, but when I was younger most of my friends were dudes. As we get older, we can only look at other women artists to gain inspiration or validation. Women don’t have a lot of social constructs of validation. As we get older, I’ve been learning that things get a lot better, and easier, and more fulfilling… on our own terms.
And finally, what are your plans for 2022? More touring, or do you envisage a new record?
Well, I’ll be touring. As musicians now, that’s the way we make money. The only way. As for the record, I don’t plan too far ahead. The only way to live truly joyful is to live day to day. So we’ll cross that bridge when I make one!
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‘Covers’ is out now.
Words: Robin Murray
Photo Credit: Mario Sorrenti
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