The Greatest - 20th Anniversary
Cat Power
The Greatest – 20th Anniversary marks two decades since Cat Power’s seminal 2006 album, returning Chan Marshall’s lush Memphis‑soul masterpiece to circulation with a celebratory new edition and related releases. Originally recorded at Ardent Studios with veterans of the Hi Records scene—guitarist Teenie Hodges, bassist Leroy Hodges, and drummer Steve Potts—the album bathes Marshall’s husky vocals and melancholy songwriting in supple Southern soul and R&B arrangements, yielding a polished, accessible record that still feels deeply sad and introspective. The title track, “The Greatest,” opens like a slow, haunted waltz, pairing strings and gently nudging drums with lyrics about youthful ambition and the reckoning that comes when dreams collide with reality, setting the emotional tone for songs such as “Where Is My Love,” “Hate,” and “Love & Communication.”
For the 20th anniversary, the album is being reissued on special‑edition pink vinyl, restoring the original pink‑foil cover and anchoring a broader celebration that includes a Redux EP and a full‑album world tour. Redux (The Greatest 20th Anniversary) brings Marshall back together with her Dirty Delta Blues touring band to revisit the era through three tracks: a newly finished studio version of James Brown’s “Try Me” begun during the original sessions, a soulful cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” dedicated to Teenie Hodges, and a re‑imagined take on album cut “Could We” built from their live arrangement. On the accompanying tour, Cat Power performs The Greatest in its entirety, underscoring how the record has come to be regarded as a “miraculous” turning point in her catalog—an album about survival, acceptance, and making peace with loss that now resonates even more deeply twenty years on.
The Greatest - 20th Anniversary
Cat Power
The Greatest – 20th Anniversary marks two decades since Cat Power’s seminal 2006 album, returning Chan Marshall’s lush Memphis‑soul masterpiece to circulation with a celebratory new edition and related releases. Originally recorded at Ardent Studios with veterans of the Hi Records scene—guitarist Teenie Hodges, bassist Leroy Hodges, and drummer Steve Potts—the album bathes Marshall’s husky vocals and melancholy songwriting in supple Southern soul and R&B arrangements, yielding a polished, accessible record that still feels deeply sad and introspective. The title track, “The Greatest,” opens like a slow, haunted waltz, pairing strings and gently nudging drums with lyrics about youthful ambition and the reckoning that comes when dreams collide with reality, setting the emotional tone for songs such as “Where Is My Love,” “Hate,” and “Love & Communication.”
For the 20th anniversary, the album is being reissued on special‑edition pink vinyl, restoring the original pink‑foil cover and anchoring a broader celebration that includes a Redux EP and a full‑album world tour. Redux (The Greatest 20th Anniversary) brings Marshall back together with her Dirty Delta Blues touring band to revisit the era through three tracks: a newly finished studio version of James Brown’s “Try Me” begun during the original sessions, a soulful cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” dedicated to Teenie Hodges, and a re‑imagined take on album cut “Could We” built from their live arrangement. On the accompanying tour, Cat Power performs The Greatest in its entirety, underscoring how the record has come to be regarded as a “miraculous” turning point in her catalog—an album about survival, acceptance, and making peace with loss that now resonates even more deeply twenty years on.