Cat Power - Dear Sir

Cat Power's first full-length album, Dear Sir, spotlights Chan Marshall's demanding but rewarding songwriting. Her distinctive blend of blues, country, folk and punk creates songs like the dark, noisy "Itchyhead" and "Rockets," which mixes tension and hope, and tops it with Marshall's earnest, expressive vocals. Though the album needs the listener's complete attention, Dear Sir more than keeps it with nine of Marshall's searching meditations on life. -Heather Phares, All Music Guide Album Description

Eh c'mon you negative music critic wannabe's! Cat Power rocks this album

I'm gonna go off the same facets that previous reviewers, "Jeditor" and "A Music Fan" have already said. This may not be Cat Power's most interesting, ground breaking, or ingenious piece of work, but it is still highly entertaining and enjoyable. Whiny or wailing? No way. I can hear some of the Sonic Youth undertones in it but certainly not a post punk album. (Want good post punk? Check out Fugazi). The musical style is quite a bit, agreed, but there's no way anyone can mistake Chan Marshall's delicious voice. Her voice is supreme on this album and I can jam to her voice at any time of day. I don't need a "mood" to listen to this album (but maybe I'm always moody?) whereas some of her newest stuff, I really have to be somewhere... like ready to just chill. This album a one trick pony? No. Way.

I got into Cat Power after her "You Are Free" album was released, and it was Moon Pix that I first heard, specifically the track 'American Flag' which prompted me to get her album and listen to the whole thing. I now have all the CDs after that, and am just now getting into her older stuff. When first listening to the new experimental stuff, and rather "groundbreaking" material, like "The Greatest", it's hard to imagine that she got her roots in anything but that. If you're used to her newest stuff, yeah, the old stuff is going to sound rather simplistic and basic. But sometimes that's not so bad.

Released first in 1995, her debut album may not have been ground shattering on any level of music genres, but it is still a force to be reckoned with. The new stuff really focuses on Chan's voice and not so much musically, though on many tracks throughout the 2000's material, you'll find pockets of just explosive instrumental pieces. It seems that Moon Pix and before, the music is more present along with her voice. You really notice it. Honestly, I think her early albums (Dear Sir-Myra Lee-What Would The Community Think-Moon Pix) are the best because while you can't deny the power and amazing talent of Chan's voice, the musical/instrumental pieces really only enhance her voice more so.

I guess I'm slightly inclined to harder music and I think the songs from the "Covers" album are rather stagnant, and it took me a long time to get into. So I think the harder clips from Dear Sir, with some loud guitar riffs from Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar and awesome drums from Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. If you're used to her more softer tones and voice focused music, then yeah, this might be a bit too much for you. Who knows. I can't say this CD will please everyone but has a single record ever done that at any time in history. Nah.

Being Chan Marshall, and knowing her eclectic taste in music and style, it's no surprise the way she's moved about from 1994 to 2006. Some would say she's matured by going to the more softer stuff (critics tend to call it that. I think that's B.S.) but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she went off the wall and infused some kind of reggae with folk music. That's Cat Power and I can only hope that "Dear Sir" gets listened to enough for people to see where she's been and where she's going.

And actually, I was thinking, her older stuff might be easier for new fans to get into. Her new stuff is hard to listen to if you don't know what to expect. It took me a long time to get into when I first started. I highly recommended for fans and newbies alike. It's not to pass up.
August 26, 2007

Christ! One Wailing Dirge After the Next

I find it rather alarming that people are giving this album four and five stars. Come on people, loyalty is one thing, but this is not even close to a five star album.

I used to love Sonic Youth, Lydia Lunch, and Live Skull--all the bands she's trying to imitate here. But she recorded this album ten years too late to have contributed anything to the development of post-punk music. There is nothing distinctive about this music whatsoever. Nor does it bear any resemblance to her more recent and better albums.

I suppose if you're into sub-grade punk and like singing that is raw and atonal, accompanied by detuned guitar dissonance, then the tracks "Rockets" and "Cold as Hell" (or whatever she calls the last track) carry a certain charm. But it's nothing that Lydia Lunch and Kim Gordon hadn't already done a million times before and better.

There's a reason why this album went out of print. Save your money; buy You Are Free instead. This album is only for those extremely curious about her origins. August 14, 2006

Should appeal to non-Cat Power fans

When I first heard Cat Power, it was her song "Rockets" (although I didn't know it at the time). Immediately turned on to the sound, I started to listen to anything I could by her, but they were all songs from her various other albums. I didn't really like what I heard - her other songs still have her haunting vocals but with a finger-picking style guitar in a more "folky" vain. Eventually, I was able to hear the songs on "Dear Sir" and it was exactly what I was attracted to in the first place. The music has more sparse, heavier distorted guitar work, slightly reminscent of early Sonic Youth. The resulting music is like hearing a ghost wail over the grindings of machinery.

If you've heard of Cat Power vicariously from interviews of other artists or other plugs in print, I highly recommend this album to be your first excursion. November 26, 2000

untitled review

let's not talk about cat power breaking new ground here; this is a reissue. although it was not exactly 'groundbreaking' (ugh) when it came out, who cares? it's great! sincere, slightly off-kilter, beautifully dissonant... buy! December 3, 1999

only if you're in the mood...

Cat Power are basically a one-trick pony, and if you've gone so far as to get to this page, you know what I'm talking about. The minimalist/somber approach can provide for a good listen when you're in the mood, but it's not a place you'd like to be for long, or very often for that matter. No new ground is broken on this new album. In fact, any one song by Cat Power is representative of the entire catalog. I can only hope that the "band" will try to break ground in their live shows, which are fast becoming a pathetic joke: No conviction whatsoever, feigned boredom, and false starts to songs while Chan Marshall acts like a five year-old, pouting, complaining, and making a complete clown out of herself, while she practically begs the audience to feel as sorry for her as she does for herself. November 30, 1999

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