The Greatest
CAT POWER
Matador
Chan Marshall's voice is round and luminous — a thing of beauty. What's more, it's flexible enough to track the radical changes Marshall — as Cat Power — has made throughout her decade-or-so-long career, from the spiky post-punk of her early years to the barebones folk and country of her last record, 2003's You Are Free. Tours, even stand-alone shows, have been sparse, thanks to Marshall's reputation for onstage breakdowns and anxiety, but her reputation as a first-rate songstress of sad, sad, sad dimensions remains.
For The Greatest, Marshall traveled to Memphis to record at the famed Ardent Studios with a cast of Southern soul legends like guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges and bassist Leroy "Flick" Hodges, members of Hi Rhythm, producer Willie Mitchell's crack studio band and the group that laid down the famous Al Green sound. As a result, the songs on the disc are all laden with trumpets and fat bottom ends, with Marshall's guitar, piano and vocals soaring over the top.
This would matter little if Marshall's songwriting couldn't keep up with her band, but Marshall has delivered a stellar set of lyrics and melodies. The title track, which opens the disc, is just hypnotizing, with a reverb-heavy guitar, weeping strings and girl-group backing vocals. "Lived in Bars" plays a sneaky trick, doubling lyrics like, "We've lived in bars and danced on tables/ Hotels, trains and ships that sail," first as an exhausted, late-night lament and then, as the music speeds up to match, as a confident saloon saunter.
Concision — always one of Marshall's weak spots — also makes the album an improvement over past efforts. The 12 songs here come in under 42 minutes, and there's hardly a wasted breath.
In short, Marshall has made a masterpiece. Comparisons to Dusty in Memphis are inescapable, and it's a testament to Marshall and her band's skills that such claims are far from outlandish. The Greatest? Indeed. 4.5 stars.
COOPER LANE BAKER
U.S.A. Still United
YING YANG TWINS
TVT
One of the Southern crunk/party-rap scene's highest-profile crews continues its efforts to reduce contemporary hip-hop to hi-hats, handclaps and repetitive vocal hooks — and, this time out, makes the process at least somewhat interesting. Ostensibly a mishmash of collaborations, tracks and remixes that either didn't make the cut for, or were subsequently inspired by, Ying Yang's recent, wildly successful U.nited S.tate of A.tlanta, Still United features less filler than that sprawling album, and more listenable contributions by the Twins' mutual admiration society. It's still mostly clicks, sirens, too-little bass and too-much misogyny, but "Wiggle Then Move," Muzicians' liquid "Get Yern," Three Six Mafia's creepily screwed-down "4 Oz.," and Homebwoi's engagingly megalomaniacal "Legendary Status" almost make up for utter shit like "Git It," "The Pink," and sex jam "Bedroom Boom," which hopefully knows it's far more hilarious than seductive. 2.5 stars.
SCOTT HARRELL
Naturally
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS
Daptone
The new Brooklyn-based soul label Daptone has unleashed this rugged little semi-gem. With house band The Dap-Kings providing slinky R&B tracks — sinewy beats, chunky horns, JB-style rhythm guitars, shimmering keyboards — and a passel of originals by arranger/musician Bosco Mann, Jones puts a set of lusty pipes to work. Her singing occasionally lacks distinctiveness, and she can be pitch-challenged, but she makes up for it with unbridled passion and enthusiasm. Standout tune: "How Do I Let a Good Man Down?," which is spiced up by a rolling Afro-beat groove and chiming guitars. Naturally would've benefited from more songs in this hybrid direction. (www.daptonerecords.com) 3 stars.
ERIC SNIDER
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings play Skipper's Smokehouse on Feb. 10.
Justice Replaced by Revenge
RINGWORM
Victory
The Cleveland-spawned Ringworm helped shape the sound of '90s hardcore/metal crossover before disbanding, and that's good. The scene has caught up with the group, though, and as a result, what the band's been doing since its 2001 reunion fits far too easily amid the punkier colors of the metalcore spectrum, and that's bad. Read the name of the band and CD, check out the artwork, and you pretty much know what you're gonna get: familiar, heavy-as-shit riffs, rhythms that carom between lockstep groove and old-school breakneck speed, and scream/chanted vocals that exhibit more than a little New York scene influence. Overall, it ain't bad, but it's definitely coasting a bit on Ringworm's venerability. 2.5 stars.
SCOTT HARRELL
Karla Bonoff
KARLA BONOFF
Columbia
This second-tier member of California's "mellow mafia" of the '70s got a record deal after writing three songs for Linda Ronstadt's Hasten Down the Wind LP. Her debut is a quiet gem of beguiling melodies and understated production, driven by Bonoff's winning voice — unassuming, anything but adventurous, but oozing sincerity and a warm kind of vulnerability. Mixed in with perky froth like "Isn't It Always Love" are such genuine heartbreak ballads as "Lose Again" and "Fallen Star." Karla Bonoff is absolutely unoriginal, and absolutely lovely.
ERIC SNIDER
This article appears in Jan 25-31, 2006.