Warning: This review contains some adult subject matters that some people may be sensitive to. Words have been edited but the meanings remain plain.

Born in the Heartland and educated in New England Tracy Chapman grew in special soils. She has deep and capable emotions that she easily traces across your ears and sweetly affects your heart. She carries a beauty that is seen, heard and felt. Now she gives you her seventh major release on the Electra/Atlantic label, Where you Live.

The Road to Where you Live.

Tracy Chapman seemed to appear from a cloud in 1988 with her self-titled release. She voiced struggles and passions that we absorbed and lived along with her from this album. Fast Car was probably the most well known track from an album full of powerful and conveying music. Tracy brought innocence and a new social conscious to the easily overlooked folk music genre. She filled the void that the 1980's had created in folk music with her acoustic guitar and vibrant songwriting. Since then she has a loyal by quiet following domestically with international sales outpacing those in her native country for her next five releases.

Throughout her career, Tracy Chapman has kept close to her heart the issues she sings about. She has been a part of many charities and organizations that provide services to the poor and other victims of the modern world. She has brought attention to the homeless and to the brutality of prostitution. She has carried herself with more attention to her passions than with record sales. That is just one thing I find remarkable about this person.

With her new release, Where you Live we find Tracy Chapman as she has always been. She still is a breathy singer, a moving songwriter and a skillful musician. We also find her more mature in all regards. She has kept her focus on the reality of the world and the plight that many struggle with. Chapman spends a substantial amount of her musical talents aimed on social subjects on this album. This can make for emotionally dark moments but there is always a lamp lit as Tracy pulls you through with promise in uplifting vocals and delightful music.

Where you Live shows us a more soulful Tracy Chapman as impossible as that sounds. She pulls in more blues influences into this release. A lot of thought has been put into the flow of this record too and the front to back listening experience of Where you Live is superb. Each individual tracks gives you a taste, a course of the meal. Where you Live is soul food for your ears.

All the tracks on this album were written by Chapman and she teamed with Tchad Blake (see Fun Fact #1) to produce it. The record is engineered and mixed well. The entire record sounds polished while retaining Tracy's rawness because Tracy chose to record the tracks live instead of dubbing over tracks. Where you Live was professionally recorded at the Fuzzbox in San Francisco but still carries an informal feel. You never loose reality though. The lyrics and guitar stringing come through very well and shape the songs completely.

The Tracks around Where you Live.

1~ Change 5:06:

"If you knew that you would die today, if you saw the face of God and love, would you change?"

Lyrically speaking this song is amazingly direct and challenging while the music remains soft. Percussion, bass (Fun Fact #2) and guitars lead you through a very smooth and flowing track with Tracy pointing towards self-discovery. What does it take to make you change? What does it take to make you care? She repeats these ascertains throughout the song as though she were pleading with you. Vocally the track is very strong and sets the mood to the album well.

2~ Talk to you 4:27: Starting off with an organ setting a slow, meaningful pace a steady two beat drum comes in. Tracy follows begging her love to stay.

"Gotta talk to you baby, talk to you now, say it isn't too soon, you'll see me again, we will sort it out."

This song bares emotions just below the surface. Catchy enough to sing along with and a subject matter nearly all of us can relate to. The song is strong and true to Chapman's style of songwriting and performance.

3~ 3,000 Miles Away 5:58: This song is laced with imagery of a school age girl in a violent cityscape. A very light organ quiets to allow Chapman's vocals to take center stage and then steps up to strengthen already rock solid vocals at the appropriate times. The girl Chapman sings of imagines herself 3000 miles away as a means to cope with her surrounds and struggles…

"Training ground for punks and thieves, home of poor white retirees, who didn't bail, who couldn't sell, when color made the grass less green, I'm 3000 miles away."

This is one of the best tracks on Where you Live. The song is absolutely Tracy Chapman and carries the same passions as her past greats. This is not a retelling of an old tale. Even though 3000 Miles Away is as good as her best it sounds new and fresh with more of a blues influence than some of her past works. This song will haunt your subconscious.

4~ Going Back 5:22: This is a loping tune witnessing the decay of what I am led to believe is her native hometown of Cleveland. It is an aching song of despair. She sees the shell of what could have been and all that is left is shadows and rust. She wants to see what could be but she can't see past the surface. This is song is a hard one for me to fully enjoy. It is well written and delivered but it just never develops. It just meanders along. With the subject matter of the song it might just fit better than I realize.

5~ Don't Dwell 3:22: Slowly strumming her guitar and with the occasional lonesome beat of a drum Chapman sings a jazzy, blues song of unquenched love. Her breathy voice seems to push the floating notes from the air. She commands attention with this slow ballad. As understated as it is, Don't Dwell is presented well. This song is a testament to Chapman's progression as both a singer and a songwriter and one of the highlights of the album.

6~ Never Yours 3:37:

"Say I have known some, less than I should, Say I have known some, too well for my own good, Say I'm a saint of mercy, Say I'm a wh@re, I've been a lot of things… but never yours."

Never Yours is that type of heartfelt and tender verse that has come to be Chapman's trademark. This is a very stark and sensitive song exposing a daughter repaying a father's debt by prostituting herself. In the song he has lost a bet and then sends his daughter off to sleep with the debtor. Sang from the woman's point of view Never Yours has the woman dealing with her internal defenses that she needs to distance herself from the act. Amazing tenderness is felt throughout Chapman's vocals. Defiance is felt in the subtle trembles in her voice as she delivers repeated "Never yours" in the chorus.

An extremely well written piece the music behind Never Yours is nearly a distraction as it seems to be just slightly off beat. This is what the woman Chapman is singing about is feeling and the music matches this perfectly. This is one of the most emotionally charged tracks on Where you Live. For me, it is also the best track on the album. This is Chapman at her best, both musically and vocally.

7~ America 3:43: Coming from the previous song America is startling with a strong driving drum opening the song. America is a song about the hypocrisies of America's past and present from Chapman's eyes.

"Your hands are at my throat, my back's against the wall, because you're still conquering America, we're sick and tired, hungry and poor, 'cause you're still conquering America."

Ideology aside the songs is more forceful than many other Chapman songs, especially on Where you Live. The loud tone to this track makes it feel out of place on this album. The song is politically divisive and thought provoking, the essence of a folk song. I like this song though it does feel out of sorts with the rest of the album.

8~ Love's Proof 3:44: This song gives us an extremely intimate portrait into a friend's love falling deeper. We witness the protagonist talking to a friend who has had love go wrong. All the while the protagonist is deeply in love with the friend.

"I want you to, try to forget her, in your heart, you know she will never, love you, love you, love you."

Chapman sings this very slowly, passionately. The delivery is flawless as she pauses slightly as she sings "I want… you". It is nearly inperceivable to the ear but makes this song so much deeper and meaningful. The song is nearly voyeuristic as the emotions are palpable and the music draws along to Chapman's vocals. This is a wonderfully beautiful song.

9~ Before Easter 3:03: Chapman is well known for focusing the attention in her songwriting to the socially deprived. Before Easter is a song about a drug addicted woman struggling with her own sins against God. The embarrassment she feels because of her addictions and the prostitution she does to support them keeps her from her faith. The music struggles along with the lyrics fighting for attention with Chapman's vocals. The song is driving and feeling. You can feel the struggle in the music. Before Easter is truth-telling songwriting at its best.

10~ Taken 3:42: Taken is an emotionally deep song of the internal doubts of a person who seems to attract the wrong person to love.

"Should I try to take you in, who'll pity me in my regret?, for those who'll never be in love, need not forget, forget, forget."

Loving blindly is the expression of passion and Chapman exposes her heart in this song. I first listened to this song sitting in a park while staring across a river and watching the first leaves of fall escaping the trees into the current. This made for nearly a perfect backdrop to this musical muse as the emotions of this song pimpled my skin with goose bumps. The rhythmic guitar strides along with Chapman's voice. She pushes her voice louder and then pulls in back again as you follow the emotions along with her. A hollow echoing noise is heard in the background along with a very gentle solid keyboard note that only adds to the rip currents of Taken. This song is a highlight to an album already filled remarkable tracks.

11~ Be and be not afraid 4:44: This song is a folk/gospel track of an intimate look into personal convictions and being able to walk in faith. Chapman plays the guitar and the harmonica on this conversationally paced song. Be and be not afraid I assume is a personal snapshot of Chapman's own faith as she shares her focus on God and his glory among the trappings of the modern world.

"I believe in mistakes and accidents, that the nature of life is chaos and confusion, that man's rules of law and order, may not stand, and that I should be and be not afraid, to reach for heaven."

This is another beautifully mastered song with soft and meaningful lyrics delivered in an emotionally moving way. As music is art Chapman masters her skill with this song. To put it simply, this song is beautiful both in thought and delivery. This wonderfully ends an outstanding album.

Personal Impressions

Compared to Tracy Chapman's other efforts I find Where you Live to be among her best work. The impassioned songwriting on Where you Live carried along on Tracy's soulful voice makes this album an outstanding addition to your collection. I could see this album bring her more Grammy nominations (Fun Fact #3).

Where you Live is Chapman's first release in three years. The wait was far too long for me but the end product was worth it. Not only is this album arguably Chapman's best work it is also one of the best albums of 2005. I would recommend experiencing Where you Live for yourself. Fun Facts from Where you Live

1. 1~ Tchad Blake has been in the recording industry for 3 decades. He has worked with many of the established greats like John Denver, Paul McCartney, Los Lobos, Pearl Jam, and Bonnie Raitt. He has even worked with Tracy's one time rumored love interest, Vernon Reid (once of Living Colour).
2. 2~ Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers plays electric bass on Change and Talk to me.
3. 3~ Tracy has won four Grammys.

Run Time: 11 tracks, 46.8 Minutes

Thanks for reading,
© Christian Stanley 2005

*This review has been republished.