When *Chan Marshall recorded The Covers Record back in 2000, Cat Power was an entirely different animal than it is today. Eight years ago, Marshall was recording at barely an audible whisper. The landscapes of her music were spare to say the least, usually a guitar here or a piano there if you were lucky. The album following The Covers Record however, 2003's You Are Free was the beginning of Marshall's metamorphosis from a precious kitty to a proud Panther. By 2006's The Greatest (her foray into Memphis Soul) Marshall had pulled a 180 and out of nowhere became one of the most influential female singer-songwriters working today.

Jukebox is Marshall's companion piece to The Covers Record in the sense that Jukebox is another collection of cover songs, yet stylistically it's an entirely different breed. Whereas The Covers Record was a Spartan set of numbers that were mere ghosts of the originals, Jukebox is heavily influenced by the sound that Marshall acquired while making The Greatest. Tracks like "Lost Someone" originally by James Brown and the great lost soul nugget "Aretha, Sing One For Me" by Greg Jackson are definite highlights. Other standouts are Marshall's re-workings of Hank Williams' "Rambling Man" winkingly retitled "Rambling (Wo)man" here and The Highwaymen's "Silver Stallion," two Country classics that Marshall brilliantly sinks her teeth into. Chan even re-works her own "Metal Heart," a quiet beauty from 1998's Moon Pix, into a rocking and rousing stunner. The only track that keeps Jukebox from being absolutely essential is her interpretation of Frank Sinatra's "New York." Her interpretation of the popular standard is a sloppy and unbalanced mess fit only for the litter box. But other than that one misstep, Jukebox is yet another great record from an artist who's turned out nothing but exceptional work for over a decade now.

*Chan is pronounced Shawn, just so you sound hip next time you go to the record store - the great endangered species of Americana.