The Greatest (Cat Power album)

Last updated
The Greatest
Cat Power The Greatest.png
Standard cover. Slipcover editions feature a picture of Marshall on each one.
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2006
RecordedMay 2005
Studio Ardent Studios, Memphis
Genre
Length44:34
Label Matador
Producer Stuart Sikes
Cat Power chronology
You Are Free
(2003)
The Greatest
(2006)
Jukebox
(2008)

The Greatest is the seventh studio album by Cat Power, the stage name and eponymous band of American singer-songwriter Chan Marshall. All tracks on the album were written by Marshall, making it her first album not to include any cover songs. The Memphis Rhythm Band includes Roy Brewer, Teenie Hodges, Steve Potts, Dave Smith, Rick Steff, Doug Easley, Jim Spake, Scott Thompson and Susan Marshall. String arrangements were contributed by Harlan T. Bobo and Jonathan Kirkscey.

Contents

The Greatest debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200, her highest charting album at the time. It also won the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize, making Marshall the first woman to win the honor. It was also named the 6th best album of 2006 by Rolling Stone, as well as the 26th best album of the decade. [1] [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 80/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The A.V. Club A− [5]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [6]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [8]
NME 8/10 [9]
Pitchfork 7.9/10 [10]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Spin A [13]

The Greatest has received a very positive response since its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 35 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". [3]

Rhapsody ranked the album #6 on its "Alt/Indie’s Best Albums of the Decade" list. [14] "The mercurial Chan Marshall returned to her Southern roots and recorded this blissful album in Memphis. The Greatest glows with a new ease, and the music itself -- which features many of the greatest soul musicians in history -- is sunny and open. There's a sense of joy coming through here that you'll want to share with friends."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chan Marshall

No.TitleLength
1."The Greatest"3:22
2."Living Proof"3:11
3."Lived in Bars"3:44
4."Could We"2:21
5."Empty Shell"3:04
6."Willie"5:57
7."Where Is My Love"2:53
8."The Moon"3:45
9."Islands"1:44
10."After It All"3:31
11."Hate"3:38
12."Love & Communication"4:34
Limited edition
No.TitleLength
13."Up and Gone"2:15
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Dreams" (Felice & Boudleaux Bryant's "All I Have to Do Is Dream")2:46

Personnel

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 34 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 23,000 copies in its first week. [15] As of 2009, the album has tallied 125,000 copies in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [16] It was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, [17] which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe. [18]

Charts

ChartPeak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [19] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [20] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [21] 56
French Albums (SNEP) [22] 20
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [23] 72
Irish Albums (IRMA) [24] 44
Italian Albums (FIMI) [25] 43
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [26] 35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [27] 57
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [28] 50
US Billboard 200 [29] 34

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [30] Silver60,000
United States125,000 [16]
Summaries
Europe100,000 [18]

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  2. Rollingstone
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