Such talent!! I love this album and every other one that Cat Power has done. There's a reason Cat Power has been around so long and probably will continue to be. A modern-day version: Arrica Rose, an emerging singer-songwriter in her new album comes real close to Cat Power. Check her out.

I'm noticing that this is the most-reviewed Cat Power album on Amazon (or at least in a close race with The Greatest), but I wanted to add my review to the pile because this is my favorite. It has "Maybe Not" which came out at a time where things in the world seemed a bit out of control, and out of the hands of the common person, and just said "we all do what we can." I saw Chan's crazy free summer concert in NYC a few years back and while that show was chaotic fun (she stopped playing for a while to chase a squirrel around the stage, trying to feed it some bread), that song brought tears to my eyes. Anyway, this album also has "Good Woman" which is a simple, beautifully written song, and some of the best hooks, in my opinion, that Chan's written. But I like just about everything she does. (My screenname is a Cat Power reference, so there you go.)

Known for her minimalist style, sparse guitar and piano backing, and otherworldly vocals, and equally notorious for her chaotic, tearful, and unpolished live performances, Cat Power is the stage name of New York City singer/songwriter Chan Marshall. Her sixth release, You Are Free (2003), is among my favorite Cat Power albums. It features Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters) on drums and Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam) on backing vocals on a couple of the tracks. Better known for her cover albums (The Covers Record; The Greatest; and Jukebox), You Are Free is all original Cat Power material. Tracks include:

1. I Don't Blame You (3:04)
2. Free (3:33)
3. Good Woman (3:56)
4. Speak For Me (3:01)
5. Werewolf (4:05)
6. Fool (3:47)
7. He War (3:29)
8. Shaking Paper (4:27)
9. Babydoll (3:05)
10. Maybe Not 4:16
11. Names (4:49)
12. Half Of You (2:39)
13. Keep On Runnin' (3:49)
14. Evolution (4:45)

The intense emotions in these songs are real. Shortly after releasing this album, Cat Power suffered a "psychotic break" that resulted in a brief admission to the Psychiatric ward at Miami's Mount Sinai.

G. Merritt

This album hit my heart like a bullet. Some people get too into the "complexity" of music and forget that it is not just math but mystery too. This album is soul. It is mystery. It is (expletive) beautiful.

I want to say this is one of her more solid releases, but I've always felt Marshall's songwriting was anything but solid. So I guess this would be one of her better embellishments, taking what little framework she has a a pianist/guitarist and spinning it into something a little more edge-like. Most of the time her frail, minimal approach does not succeed simply due to a lack of range. I am all for the style, but one must always learn the rules before unlearning them, Cat Power always sounded like she just skipped those steps. Likewise, when she tries to pull of her more bluesy, southern-styled approach it usually feels rather forced and phony. Still she does land a few stripped-down songs with convincing sincerity, and with a few songs concentrating on some of her less-absorbed, but more absorbing rock work, You Are Free should be considered, if not a step forward for the overrated songwriter, certainly not a step back.