When the song writing talent that is Tracy Chapman burst on the music scene with her eponymous debut in 1988 she was a breathe of fresh air for me with her thought provoking lyrics and angelic vocals but the problem I have with this compilation is the running order.
It may a personal thing but I like to get the songs in chorological order, the collection starts well with the outstanding song that is “Fast Car” from the 1988 debut with it’s slight reggae feel and optimistic lyrics of hope, and with Ms Chapman playing acoustic and electric guitar with Ed Black playing steel guitar just slightly behind Ms Chapman adding a counterpoint to the main theme of the song along with the rock steady rhythm section supplied by the superb drum work of Denny Fongheiser and the sublime bass playing of Joni Mitchell’s ex-husband Larry Klein.
Then for some reason the next song in the running order is taken from her second album released 2 years after her debut. “Subcity”
is a track were the words try the to give the hopes and fears of the underclass, denied a voice of their own, the song is give a sense of melancholy by the viola and electric violin playing of Charlie Bisharat.
Then in the running order of this album it’s back to the debut album for the following cut “Baby can hold you” which is a beautiful poignant love song which for me the artist hasn’t bettered so far in her career.
The next track leaps forward to the 1995 album “New Beginning”; “The Promise” is a track that feels out of context at the early part of a compilation of Ms Chapman work as her song writing and outlook and experiences are so much more mature. “I’m Ready” is also from the 1995 album “New Beginnings” and for me is a personal favourite. After raiding an album from the 90’s we the listener jump back to the 80’s for the title track of her 1989 album “Crossroads” where the lyrics are more personal, a key line in the song for me is “All you folks think you run my life, say I should be willing to compromise” this tells the world that she is not willing to change beliefs for anyone.
Now the complier takes us to 1992 to the album “Matters of The Heart” to lift the song “Bang Bang Bang” which has a guest musician of note playing on it, Roy Bittan of the Bruce Springsteen fame is tickling the ivories to great effect on this song about gun violence. Next up is the title track from her 2000 album “Telling Stories”, and then we zip back the 1995 release “New Beginning “ for the standout track on that album for me “Smoke and Ashes” is more up-tempo with a stirring chorus. From the “Telling Stories” album “Speak the Word” follows another song with an up-lifting chorus about the power of love, then another track from that album follows, “Wedding Song” conjures up some striking imagery and the vocals of Ms Chapman are extremely haunting.
Again we the listeners are taken back to the album “Matters of the Heart” from1992 for this song “Open Arms” which has the soul legend Bobby Womack playing acoustic guitar on it, followed in quick succession by a cut from the 1995 album “New Beginning” which was the big hit single from that album, Tracy would perform this track at the 1997 “Grammy’s” with the late bluesman Junior Wells playing harmonica on it.
Then we go all the way back to the debut album for one of the key songs of her career “Talkin’ bout a Revolution”, then the penultimate song of this collection is from the same source “She’s got her Ticket” has a similar theme to it’s sister song “Fast Car” To close the album is another track from her second recording “Crossroads” which is a song with has a simple but striking arrangement with Neil Young playing acoustic guitar and piano. The element that makes up for this historical inaccuracy of this collection is the overall improvement in sound of all the songs presented here, this was achieved by the mastering of the tracks at “Gateway Mastering”. For me the songs here are just superb, but I would have preferred a chorological running order to show song writing progression and artistic growth….
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Some albums just can't be bettered. Tracy Chapman's 1988 self-titled debut is one of them. ... more
Led by poignant singles "Fast Car", "Baby Can I Hold You Tonight" and "Talkin' Bout a Revolution", its fragile acoustic laments tugged at the heart-strings and e...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Some albums just can't be bettered. Tracy Chapman's 1988 self-titled debut is one of them. ... more
Led by poignant singles "Fast Car", "Baby Can I Hold You Tonight" and "Talkin' Bout a Revolution", its fragile acoustic laments tugged at the heart-strings and e...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: All the band most accessible songs on one CD, Some of the finest singles of the last twenty years, An excellent new song and a free bonus disc of acoustic versions Disadvantages: Misses out whole albums of the bands history, A few curious ommissions, 'Mint car'
Feb 18th, 2004
(Feb 26th, 2004)
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