Cat Power Under the Covers: A Listening Party with Jukebox Muses

"Silver Stallion" isn't the only Nashville cover on Jukebox. On "Ramblin' (Wo)man," Marshall reworks the Hank Williams classic while still doing it justice, according to the country music icon's grandson, Hank Williams III. "She's definitely made it her own," he says. "It's interesting to see how she brought the slow, jazz-type phrasing to it. She even changed some lyrics and pronunciations a bit. Most people who hear it — even some hard-core Hank Williams fans — might not even recognize it at first. You've gotta listen really close, but hopefully some people will look at the notes and discover Hank Williams' music because of it."

Marshall even employed musicians from one of the song's original recording sessions in search of sonic authenticity. Teenie Hodges, the guitarist for Memphis' Hi Records Rhythm Section, which served as the backing band on George Jackson's "Aretha, Sing One for Me" in 1972, joined Marshall in the studio for her take on the soul gem.

"It's got a really different feel from my version," Jackson says. "She stuck to the basic melody of the song that I recorded, but I noticed that she added a Bonnie Raitt–style guitar lick on her version. On my version, I mostly used the piano for the melody and the solos, but she uses the guitar on hers, which I thought was really interesting. I'm thrilled that she decided to cover it. I've always liked that song, but I think it's great that she liked it enough to do it herself."