In 1995 I saw Cat Power at Town Hall. She opened for Liz Phair. Timidly walking out on to stage, with shaking hands placing her set list on the microphone stand she played her set. She wasn't able to capture the audience that night, a low murmer of talking pervaded. She didn't finish he songs right, they just sort of ended mid strum. She walked off stage defeated.

In 2000 I saw the Matador Records 10th Anniversary Party, three nights at Irvin Plaza. Cat Power played on the second night and captivated me. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. The sound still echoes in my ears and memory. I was instantly transformed, converted into a Cat Power fan.

Her voice is simply beautiful. Hypnotic, Enveloping. Her guitar playing is similarly hypnotic. A vulnerable truth unencumbered by a need to hide itself from the world. All art and all artists should aspire to this level of vulnerability.

I bought The Covers Record on the strength of her cover of Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. A song I didn't recognize until it was 2/3 done. Out of all her albums this is the most accessible, and I would consider this a great starting point, a great introduction to Chan Marshall a-k-a Cat Power.

Melancholy, slow, airy. Great art has the ability to transport you into a different world. This album transports you. If I close my eyes, I can see the studio with Chan at the piano, a single light so she can see the keys. If I keep them closed I'm drawn into the drama, the heartbreak, loss, and sorrow.

I saw Cat Power in 2001 at the Bowery Ballroom. She wasn't nearly as captivating. It was her crowd. She was confident on stage, almost brash. She played random songs she knew a few chords to and didn't finish them. She quipped with the audience. I don't know if this is typical of her performances now. I certainly hope not. Where was the Chan Marshall we had all come to know and love? Had this bravado swallowed her up?

I brought a friend of mine, a musician who can be similarly vulnerable. I wanted to show her a successful musician who wasn't polished, and whose main strength was her honesty. We left early.

Someone said that an album is a testament to a certain place in time. The Covers Record is her most polished album, but it certainly doesn't attempt to hide Chan away from the world. This album is a testament to who Chan Marshall was and is. A testament to a person.

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