02-10-19

“Age does not protect you from love, but love to some extent love protects you from age.” – Jeanne Moreau

Coming off her fourth album, Chan Marshall, a.k.a. Cat Power, found herself at a precarious position. Her success had brought the trouble of having to rise to the lofty expectations she had set for herself. IN between creating new material for her follow-up album, she produced which most, herself included, believed to be a temporary filler. Upon first listening most would never assume that this covers record would be uniquely hers, almost as much as any of her originally recorded material.

Each cover comes with the soulful, melancholy that seems to be permanently rooted in Marshalls’ voice, taking on a new life. Songs like Sea of Love sound as if they were explicitly written for Marshall, waiting for the day for her to be ready to take them on.

Originally written in 1959 by Phil Phillips (Phillip Baptiste) this song lived as unremarkable crooner’s warm-up song. Don’t get me wrong, it most certainly had its own life before Cat Power, yet it was never anything “amazing” a flash in the pan at best. Marshall breathed life into it, having long been forgotten many would forget that it was actually a cover.

Lyrics:

Come with me my love
To the sea
The sea of love
I want to tell you
How much I love you

Do you remember
When we met?
That’s the day I knew you were my pet
I want to tell you
How much I love you

Come with me my love
To the sea
The sea of love
I want to tell you
How much I love you