Cat Power Songs Ranked
Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall (born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, occasional actress, and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall’s first band but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in Atlanta, Marshall was raised throughout the southern United States and began performing in local bands in Atlanta in the early 1990s. After opening for Liz Phair in 1993, she worked with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, with whom she recorded her first two albums, Dear Sir (1995) and Myra Lee (1996), on the same day in 1994. In 1996, she signed with Matador Records, and released a third album of new material with Shelley and Foljahn, What Would the Community Think. Following this, she released the critically acclaimed Moon Pix (1998), recorded with members of Dirty Three, and The Covers Record (2000), a collection of sparsely arranged cover songs. Here are all of Cat Power’s songs ranked.
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12. Werewolf (You Are Free, 2003)
“Werewolf is probably the most haunting and beautifully poetic songs—consisting of violins and cellos drifting like wind in the background, while Marshall strums her acoustic—which explains having sympathy for misunderstood people or “monsters” because of their poor qualities.”
11. I Don’t Blame You (You Are Free, 2003)
“You Are Free starts out with a beautiful song, I Don’t Blame You, in dedication to Kurt Cobain, and expressing her understanding on his life.”
10. Good Woman (You Are Free, 2003)
“Bitterness isn’t the half of it, and the regular return to a mundane horror visited upon the young, that too. ‘Good Woman’ is what I can only term inaccurately and with gargantuan understatement a break-up song and it’s the most heart-wrenching one ever in at least three universes. I’m certain that’s Conor Oberst on backing vocals and I don’t even mind.”
9. Maybe Not (You Are Free, 2003)
“Maybe Not—the gentle piano and vocal post-modern peace song that speaks of the end of the war, in our world, within ourselves—and Names—the painful ballad about a terrifying recollection of child abuse from various children, that says more in its resigned sorrow than a histrionic rant would.”
See more: Cat Power Albums Ranked
8. Manhattan (Sun, 2012)
“I actually really love this song, its pretty and seems very candid. Cat Power always sounds like herself, which is awesome! Music aside, I’m not thrilled on the new look, but that’s Cat’s thing I respect it, it works for her.”
7. Sea of Love (Everything Is Nice: The Matador Records 10th Anniversary Anthology, 1999)
“I feel that this song is about being truly in love after you have been with someone for a while. The end of the third verse is actually “I knew you were my pet” not “I knew you were mine”., if you listen to the original by Phil Phillips and this one the lyrics are exactly the same, I only say this because not all of the covers on the cover record are exact covers.”
6. He War (You Are Free, 2003)
“This was the first Cat Power song I heard and I have absolutely no idea what the “He War” is all about, but whenever I listen to it I have a sense of feeling remorse about something (I never meant to be the needle…) but at the same time knowing that you might be better off this way (Don’t look back)”
5. Woman (Wanderer, 2018)
“Great tune! Those lamenting the fact Lana doesn’t have a bigger part in the song, it’s Cat Power feat. Lana Del Rey not the other way round. I think the song is brilliant, their voices meld together perfectly. I can hear Lana’s voice distinctly. Great job to both Chan and Lana”
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4. Cross Bones Style (Moon Pix, 1998)
“I saw an interview with Chan in 1998. She explained that this song was written after a trip to Africa. She met some orphans whose parents worked in diamond mines and were murdered by those who ran the mines.”
3. Nude as the News (What Would the Community Think, 1996)
“Cat Power was pretty in her day, her music was meant to be more of a collage of thoughts and feelings that were to the left politically. She used her feminity in the way of being a feminist. I have grown very fond of her music recently.”
2. Metal Heart (Moon Pix, 1998)
“This just might be my favorite Cat Power song. I think it’s about, at least to me, is not following your dreams, your calling, just going through the motions of life, locked up in a “sad sad zoo”, pretending it doesn’t bother you, and the danger in doing that, how it can change you… God, I need to get out of this office.”
1. Lived in Bars (The Greatest, 2006)
“Absolutely stunning. The clear highlight of “The Greatest” album and a timelessly soulful future classic. I can’t get enough of this song.”
