Despite the misleading title, 2006’s ‘The Greatest’ is not a best-of collection, but rather is Chan Marshall aka Cat Power’s first album not to include any cover songs. ‘The Greatest’ feels like a late-night walk down the loneliest street in the world. Chan Marshall, the almost pathologically shy artist, made her seventh full-length in the heart of old school blues territory, lining her mournful tunes with the classic wax of old Stax recordsyou can practically taste the stale cigarette smoke.

Recorded in Memphis, with a handful of 60s soul legends, these 12 songs are gripping, effortless and every bit as brutal as a vicious sucker punch. By turns solemn and wistful, Marshall can just as easily find the silver lining as mourn whats lost. Stunning in its seeming ease and a deeply moving whole, ‘The Greatest’ is a devastating knock