Background
According to Cat Power: A Good Woman by Elizabeth Goodman, the success of Cat Power’s fourth album, Moon Pix (1998), led to high expectations for her follow-up, and made it difficult for her to live what she called “a normal life.” She elected to release an album of covers in part because she felt more comfortable playing covers than her own material. Between Moon Pix and what became The Covers Record, she scheduled a number of solo shows during which she played only covers. In order to take attention away from herself, she projected the 1928 French silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc behind her onstage.
Marshall’s decision to release a covers album was disappointing to Matador, who considered her a “genius songwriter” and wanted to capitalize on the success of Moon Pix. According to Gerard Cosloy, the promotional campaign for the The Covers Record, which he calls “a great album,” was intentionally “muted,” in order to allow the album to “find its audience.” However, Marshall saw The Covers Record as a personal and important release, and interpreted this as lack of faith on the record company’s behalf in the record’s ability to connect with her audience.
Marshall's contract for The Covers Record was allegedly drafted on the spot on a Post-it note.
Read more about this topic: The Covers Record
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