20 Signs of Life From 2003

What a year it’s been for Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall—a.k.a. Cat Power—the seductive song deconstructress and occasional model. In the wake of her first record of original material in four years, You Are Free, she toured extensively, appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and was featured in nearly every magazine on the planet from GQ to The New Yorker. It all seems rather amazing for an artist who, on any given night, may not finish—or even begin—a gig because of disabling stage fright and other artistic or personal difficulties.

But You Are Free earns the accolades. In one sparse, primal, melancholic song after another, Marshall bares her soul in confessional exorcisms—on being a musician (the Kurt Cobain-inspired “I Don’t Blame You”); on breaking hearts (the sublime “Good Woman,” with Eddie Vedder adding subtle backing vocals and Dirty Three violinist Warren Ellis chipping in one of several integral contributions); on child abuse (“Names”); materialism (the self-explanatory “Fool”), and the darker side of the male psyche (the anthemic “He War,” which gets a boost from Dave Grohl’s furious drum rolls).

Marshall also takes apart covers as only she can, choosing two songs from America’s roots music canon—first disassembling Michael Hurley’s country-tinged “Werewolf,” and then answering the covetous man's blues in Howlin’ Wolf’s “Crawling Black Spider” blues with a woman’s equally blue response in “Keep On Runnin’.”

At the end you know you’ve been through something much more affecting than what you normally experience popping an average disc in the player. Marshall’s art feels life-altering; if not yours, then certainly hers. It may not be easy, but with Cat Power, it’s always worth it, and You Are Free offers the greatest reward yet. (photo by Shawn Mortenson)