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Telling
Stories +1 [IMPORT]
Tracy Chapman |
Too often artists are chided for changing without justification.
With 'Telling Stories' Tracy Chapman once again deals with difficult
issues in simple terms. From the lovelorn and rueful 'Less Than
Strangers' to the hopeful but apprehensive 'Devotion' Tracy
tackles love and life on, what is for her, new ground. Emmylou
Harris's back-up vocals on 'The Only One' help to provide a
soulful mix to a sad song. The often bitter lyrics in 'Nothing
Yet' ("from forty acres to a forty-ounce/it don't seem fair")
perfectly contrast the simple purity of 'Wedding Song' ("for
you I'd don a veil"). Perhaps the biggest gem on the album,
however, is the title track, 'Telling Stories.' This beautiful-but-biting
song strikes back at the people who say Chapman should go back
to the ways of her earlier album. In 'Telling Stories,' Chapman
does return to the soulful ways of her earlier albums; however,
it is on her own terms. Her stunning vocal arrangements and
more positive lyrics show that while she has returned to an
older style, she is not trying to reclaim past glory. On the
contrary, it seems more likely it seems that she is simply retracing
to pick up the ideas she missed.
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