TRACY CHAPMAN
• 'I'm best at writing about things I feel strongly for.'

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Many have criticised Tracy Chapman for becoming less political and more commercial throughout her career but one thing is sure, her eponymous album of 1988 is powerful enough to make your voice catch in your throat and hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Chapman's voice on this album is raw, quavering and persuasive in its ability to convince you of the truth of her message. Bracketed into the political folk slot, alongside Bob Dylan, Chapman exudes a genuine passion for the causes she sings about, remarking in an interview with Time Out, 'I'm best at writing about things I feel strongly for.' The lyrics on Chapman's later albums (with the exception of Crossroads) are less strident, somehow less forceful than the forthright lyrics on her first album, which has earned her the label of protest singer. The fact that Chapman became instantly accessible to a mass audience and that she has sold over 15 million albums since then does nothing to dilute the importance of her stance against violence in all aspects of life. It is a shame that she must now be criticised for being, as some have suggested, 'lifeless' simply for being less politically outspoken than they would like or than she has previously been.

The fact is that Chapman was and still is a talented songwriter and her debut album contains some of the simplest and most potent lyrics of all time. In terms of success, Chapman has never quite managed to match that of her debut, and it has been put forward that this is due to the more saleable content of the lyrics. It is true that her debut album is hard hitting in terms of political and social issues but whilst this went to number one in the UK charts within days of her amazing performance at the 1988 Nelson Mandela concert, the follow up album Crossroads - considerably more political and dark - although well reviewed, was not nearly so successful. Maybe Chapman's uncompromising stance on political issues and the fact that she was in the right place at the right time at the Mandela tribute, ensured her rise to fame but whatever the reasons behind her initial success, this first album is the main reason behind Chapman's enduring cult status worldwide. The lyrics resonate with messages about inequality and exploitation and particularly the violence endemic between racial groups. Who could fail to recognise the haunting truths so melodically portrayed in Across the Lines, arguably one of Chapman's finest songs to date ?

Here, and in other songs, she turns the personal into the political with such ease and melody, that you have to listen to the songs several times before you realise the full impact of what she is saying. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar that creates the impression of a woman sitting lamenting on her front porch, Chapman's soulful croon is the epitome of what I imagine to have embodied the repression of America's deep south. She sings of domestic violence in Behind the Wall, a well constructed a cappella that highlights the number of women killed by their husbands and portrays the frustration of being powerless to stop it. There is clever subtlety in such lines as, 'And the policeman said, I'm here to keep the peace,' the impact of which is to bring the relevancy of the police force down to the level of a street sweeper, cleaning up the aftermath of the violence. The simplicity of the musical arrangements on the album serves to place the focus on her words, as do the simple melodies Chapman employs to get her messages across. Although the album is undoubtedly despairing in tone, there is an optimism beneath songs such as Fast Car that implies that people can and do lift themselves out of awful circumstances. Fast Car is about a girl who works in a supermarket, hoping for promotion and displays the girl's plan to better her life and, 'finally see what it means to be livin.' In the same way, She's got her Ticket is a song about independence and freedom from restraint and specifically one woman's decision to leave it all behind. Repetition of verses is a device Chapman uses to reinforce her words and in this song is the subtle reminder that for centuries women have been subjugated and coerced into doing things, with the lines: No-one should try and stop her, persuade her with their power She says that her mind is made......up. And she'll fly fly , fly, fly, fly, fly, fly.

This album resounds with integrity. It is a reassured and confident debut from someone willing to speak out against the materialism of our society - in Mountains of Things - and yet admit that our need to indulge in the material is an understandable weakness. The album does not preach and despite an evident frustration with the injustice of society - as in Talkin 'bout a Revolution - does not seek to naively suggest that these problems have quick fix solutions. In spite of the social tone of the album, there is also reflection on personal relationships in songs such as If Not Now and Baby can I Hold You, the latter of which is a beautiful love song, so perceptive and heartfelt that it can only come from personal experience and deserves to be rated as one of the greatest love songs of all time.

In short, if you have never listened to Tracy Chapman, do not waste another minute. Whether you take on board the implications of the lyrics or not, you cannot fail to be moved by Chapman's rich, soulful voice. She may have her fair share of critics but only someone soulless could suggest that this is anything less than an amazing first album.Many have criticised Tracy Chapman for becoming less political and more commercial throughout her career but one thing is sure, her eponymous album of 1988 is powerful enough to make your voice catch in your throat and hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Chapman's voice on this album is raw, quavering and persuasive in its ability to convince you of the truth of her message. Bracketed into the political folk slot, alongside Bob Dylan, Chapman exudes a genuine passion for the causes she sings about, remarking in an interview with Time Out, 'I'm best at writing about things I feel strongly for.' The lyrics on Chapman's later albums (with the exception of Crossroads) are less strident, somehow less forceful than the forthright lyrics on her first album, which has earned her the label of protest singer.



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