Her ability to combine driving lyricism with fervent opposition to injustice attracted enormous attention with her 1988 debut and 1989 s Crossroads album. From passion to quietism don t seem fair either. The meditative quality of Chapman s voice is in full control of Telling Stories . Even their orchestration emerges straight from her first two albums, which surprises less after realizing that Dave Kershenbaum, who produced those 80s recordings, has returned for this 00s occasion. These tracks are the best in the album, accomplished with skill and persuasiveness.
Thoughts tumble out, an interior life emerges, and two difficult relationships gain meaning.
From there, the album plummets towards meaninglessness. High professional polish holds together work that would not gain more than a moment s attention for a lesser artist. That s a technical aesthetic that does well for the beautiful Herb Ritts portraits in the album notes, but polishing cannot hide the morose retreat of this music. Hopefully, that s a temporary problem. All rights reserved.