Review: Cat Power Plays Dylan '66

Chan Marshall, the artist otherwise known as Cat Power, opened her set at Edinburgh International Festival by saying hello to “the greatest middle-aged city in all of Europe”. As the 52-year-old singer noted, “it's an honour to be middle-aged”, yet these thoughts may not have been on the mind of Bob Dylan in his mid-twenties, when he played the live concert in England which Marshall has faithfully recreated for her new live record and concert. 

On one level, this was just about the biggest tribute band concert ever held during the Edinburgh Festival. On another, it was a masterpiece of interpretation, of the transformative effect of transposing one unique artist’s work to another equally unique artist’s lens. In the set’s first half the black-suited Marshall, an acoustic guitarist and a harmonica player delivered sparse versions of classics including 'Visions of Johanna', 'Desolation Row', 'Mr Tambourine Man' and 'Just Like a Woman', the latter utterly transformed for actually being sung by a woman.

In the second half, she struggled against the discomfort of her own broken toe to channel the blues-rock energy of her six-piece electric band on 'Baby Let Me Follow You Down', 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat', 'Like a Rolling Stone' and more. Marshall’s great point of connection with Dylan is the raw, untutored nature of her voice – one which might have given little satisfaction to anyone who turns up at the Edinburgh International Festival in search of schooled precision, but which struck a chord with a great many listeners who appreciate raw experience and depth of feeling from a singer.

---

Cat Power Plays Dylan '66 performed at Edinburgh Playhouse on 18 Aug as part of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival