The almond-eyed tortured seductress Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, is back. Her early decidedly indie, arguably flaky, and musically lo-fi years had passed me by, but the opening bars of previous sultry outing's The Greatest had me snagged hook, line and sinker. It survived to remain among my albums of that year despite emerging early in January. So, two years on, I approached this new release with a massive sense of expectation. She has vanquished some demons and found some stability in both her personal and professional life. What next? Well, somewhat disappointingly to those initial expectations, it's a covers album, the second in her career, and this time a tribute to those vocalists who have provided inspiration down the years. My second gripe was that most tracks on the review copy had been specially butchered with jarring premature fades. With so much of the enjoyment here being of tone and atmosphere, it did set this reviewer's teeth on edge more than once. Thankfully, Marshall's textured voice and phrasing still stamps this collection with her own distinct mark. There's also a full time backing band, Dirty Delta Blues (Judah Bauer, Gregg Foreman, Jim White, Erik Papparazzi), to continue the southern gothic soul sound of The Greatest, helped by infusions of authenticity from several guests, most notably Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan). It is Marshall's voice that is, as expected, most often to the fore, with subtle support from the boys in the band, but the best tracks are those where they kick back and emerge from the shadows. On 'Aretha, Sing One For Me' they do a mighty fine sloppy Faces impression with squealing organ and grumbling guitar, the latter also driving Dylan's 'I Believe In You', reinterpreted as personal love song rather than religious dedication.The openers 'Theme from New York, New York', and Hank Williams’ 'Ramblin' (Wo)man' are barely covers - being so turned inside-out as to be barely recognisable save for the odd familiar lyric. From that point on the roots of Chan Marshall's current sound are easier to trace through the more obscure selections. There is one new original, 'Song To Bobby', a flaccid narrative about trying to hook up with Dylan himself that largely rambled out of my attention span; plus a revisiting of her own 'Metal Heart' from 1998's Moon Pix that does have the bite and feel of The Greatest. Certain efforts stand or fall according to the strength of, or your affection for, the original. On Billie Holiday's 'Don't Explain' Marshall is brooding over a piano, and she is nicely subdued but emotional for Joplin's 'A Woman Left Lonely'. That turns out to be a bit of a slow-burn highlight. However, the album finishes with Joni Mitchell's 'Blue', all fuzzy head hung low over ashtray; but it meanders without hitting home and forms a lacklustre finale.If by some chance you don't have The Greatest, do something to remedy that. This is a decent continuation in overall style but never quite manages to overcome the initial sense of anticlimax. An element of treading water, a degree of buying time. Perhaps that was necessary after the upheavals in her personal life. However, it has to be hoped that a more creative Chan Marshall will be back soon. 69%Links Cat Power [official site] [myspace] [buy it]