There is no artist in our time that has made cover songs a part of their career quite like Cat Power. Over the last 20 years of recording, she’s peppered them throughout her catalog, including a full album in 2000, The Covers Record. Her versions of “Sea Of Love” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” have both become iconic in their own right, reinterpreting Phil Phillips and The Rolling Stones in such a way that they truly become her own. And on her latest album, the incredible Wanderer which was just named one of our 50 Best Albums Of 2018, she offered up a new version of Rihanna’s “Stay,” getting to the heart of what makes that song special.
Today, she continues her own tradition with a new version of “What The World Needs Now,” penned by Hal David and Burt Bacharach. The song was originally made popular by Jackie DeShannon in 1965, and has since become one of those tunes that is engrained in society, the kind of track you know the words to and don’t really know how. Cat Power’s version is smokey and uplifting, filtering the hopeful lyrics through her unmistakable vocal delivery. In a career full of covers, Cat Power manages another home run. The track is included on the deluxe vinyl edition of her latest album.
Check out Cat Power’s cover of “What The World Needs Now” above. Wanderer is out now on Domino.
