Track listing
1. Heaven's Here on Earth
2. New Beginning
3. Smoke and Ashes
4. Cold Feet
5. At This Point in My Life
6. Promise, The
7. Rape of the World, The
8. Tell It Like It Is
9. Give Me One Reason
10. Remember the TinMan
11. I'm Ready


Details
Contributing artists: Lili Haydn
Producer: Don Gehman, Tracy Chapman
Distributor: WEA (distr)
Recording type: Studio
Recording mode: Stereo
SPAR Code: n/a


Album notes
Tracy's Band: Tracy Chapman (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, organ); Adam Levy (electric guitar, background vocals); Andy Stoller (bass, tamboura, background vocals); Rock Deadrick (drums, percussion, background vocals); Glenys Rogers (percussion, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Lili Haydn (violin); Cameron Stone (cello); Eric Rigler (Scottish small-pipes, whistle); Scott Roewe (didgeridoo); John Thomas (piano); Phil Shenale (keyboards).
Recorded at The Site, San Rafael, California; NRG Studio, North Hollywood, California; Scream Studio, Studio City, California.
All songs written by Tracy Chapman.
"Give Me One Reason" won a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. Tracy Chapman earned four additional Grammy nominations for NEW BEGINNING. "Give Me One Reason" was nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and the album was nominated for Best Pop Album.
What made Tracy Chapman's self-titled 1988 debut significant was her ability to bring the troubling stories of America's underbelly to an audience mostly removed from such problems, but eager to listen. Her supremely crafted songs quickly became anthems, making her the first popular African-American singer-songwriter to reach mega-stardom. Seven years later, Chapman's fourth album, NEW BEGINNING, arrives with new stories, while diving into previously unexplored territory.
Chapman's knack for gripping storytelling is most evident on the chilling "Cold Feet," which describes the dangerous choices rational people often make to get ahead. Her protagonist takes only one risk in an otherwise peril-free life, but it turns out to be a fatal one. While we've all heard similar tales, "Cold Feet" forces even the most self-assured listener to examine his/her own decisions. Where NEW BEGINNING differs from her earlier work is Tracy's willingness to turn the microscope on herself. "Heaven's Here On Earth" affords us a glimpse of her spiritual side, while "At This Point In My Life" is Chapman at her most introspective. These songs show us more of Tracy Chapman than we've seen before and, in the tradition of the best singer-songwriters, force us to examine ourselves.


Editorial reviews
...her songs, beneath her throaty vocals, present a refined melodic edge that makes several songs worth hearing over and over.
Dirty Linen (04/01/1996)



CD in excellent condition played couple of times at most;in jewel case.