Customer Reviews

Beth Nielsen Chapman - Greatest Hits

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Nanci Griffith's song, "1937 PreWar Kimball" the master laments "I wish I had a voice like Beth Nielsen Chapman." Then, Faith Hill extols the talent of Beth Nielsen Chapman, writer of the hit "This Kiss", during an interview I caught on TV one night. I had to know who this person was! I ordered the Greatest Hits CD thinking it would be a good overview of Chapman's work. Ladies and gents, I have been playing it continually since I tore the cellophane off. The writing is intelligent and moving, the musicality fresh and engaging. In short, outstanding. Make Beth Nielsen Chapman your new favorite girl singer, too. Order this CD now!

I first heard Beth Chapman when my sister bought me "Sand and Water". She said "you have got to listen to this woman sing. She will break your heart and lift your spirits all at once." I am so grateful she bought that album for me. Beth sings from her soul, which I feel has been through so much. I don't know how, but I just know she has had hard times somewhere in her life. She sings to the hard times I have had in mine, and somehow I just know she understands. What a gift this girl has. Not only does she have the voice of an angel, she has communication with one, too. I love this music, I love this voice. What else can I say, except "thank you"?

. . . then this is a great place to begin. Many of the tracks are earlier material and songs which Beth has written for other artists who went on to have hits with them, i.e. HAPPY GIRL, as done by Martina McBride and THE COLOR OF ROSES as covered by Bette Midler. Beth's versions are superior, in my opinion. She has a unique and distinctive voice which is capable of generating all kind of emotions in a person. Special mention must be made of the track ALL I HAVE, which still gets much radio play here in the UK. This is so personal, so beautiful and such an intimate love ballad that you can almost imagine Beth is performing this to you in your living room. This lady has the vocal style of the sadly missed and brilliant Eva Cassidy. AMAZING. SAND AND WATER, which was also done by Elton John, was also the title of her album she wrote when overcoming the grief of losing her husband to cancer in 1994, and has been used in ER, as I may have mentioned in my review of it. Great guitar work abounds on this track, both folk and classical influences collide ather well. I will also mention EMILY, which will have even the hardest man tearing up and letting go; LIFE HOLDS ON, which is full of hope, and a world-folk BEYOND THE BLUE with the mind-blowing Gregorian chant at the end - if the guitar riffing sounds familiar you may or may not know that Nelly Furtado ripped it off on one of her recent hits. I could go on, but I'll finish by saying you will be in for a treat. Very hard to fault!

I saw Beth Nielsen Chapman singing someone else's song in tribute to that artist on a PBS-TV show. I can't remember the show's name or who the show was about. I just remembered being totally impressed by Chapman's singing voice.

I decided to purchase her "Greatest Hit" since I was unfamiliar with her work. This is a purchase that I will never regret. She's well known for her songwriting. I just can't understand why she isn't more popular or as well known for her singing.

I've just watched the 'Sand and Water' episode of ER.

The last scene has just faded with the song 'Sand and Water' still echoing in my head. I scan the credits but the singer is not mentioned.

So I go on-line and find out about Beth Nielson Chapman.

I am hooked. There's no need to write a flowery review. Not reason to beat about the bush. This lady's voice will touch your soul.

I have not been able to stop listing to the wonderful music of Beth Nielsen Chapman, I bought it mainly for the song "Say Goodnight" that I heard on One Life To Live, but each and every song has touched me. I truly recommend this to everyone. She has two more fans myself and my husband. Thank you.

Chapman hasn't received enough attention for the material she writes for herself. While she's made many hits for others (especially country music stars), and has had a couple of her own, many people don't know who she is. This CD gathers the "greatest hits" from her own songs. Many of them come from "Sand and Water," her collection of songs written to process the death of her husband. They are sad, grieving songs -- but there's much to be said for someone who can put words on our feelings, and Chapman does this beautifully. There are a couple of very upbeat tunes, too, especially "Happy Girl" (also from Sand and Water) and "Life Holds On." "All I Have" is the perfect romance song . . . it could be the "our song" for lots of folks. "Emily" is another tear-jerker, a song about visiting a college friend who's dying. But for all the grief evident in Chapman's lyrics, she's rarely sentimental, except perhaps in "Time," the weakest cut on the album. She has a way with words that makes one say, "Yeah, that's how I feel, and that's how I would have said it if I only knew how." She talks of retreat from the world "in the harbour of each other's arms," the fact that she's learned "the world won't change just 'cause I complain," and "solid stone is just sand and water, and a million years gone by." I'm writing from an advance CD, so I hope the same songs end up on the final. An excellent buy for anyone who wants a taste of this vastly under-rated songwriter. "This Kiss," the song she co-write for Faith Hill, is up for a Grammy nomination as I write; let's hope Beth gets the recognition she deserves.

Having lost my wife in 1997, I first discovered her in 1998 with "Sand and Water" on the local radio. With this CD I was hooked. This new CD introduced me to other songs by her that are as equally touching.
As I grieved over my past wife, many of her songs still touch my soul and heal my heart. As someone who lost her husband, she knows the pain and the dark times. She also knows that with grieving and time the heart heals and one can again be happy and live life again. Her lyrics speak to my soul in ways that I cannot describe.
Five stars should be ten stars. She is incredible!

Have heard several of Beth's songs on TV shows and didn't realize it was her. Loved the music! She was a new artist to me and a very welcome find. My favorite songs were "Sand & Water" and "Say Goodnight, not Goodbye".

I owned BNC"s first 2 cds so I was thrilled to see she had a Greatest Hits cd. I think that she is without a doubt one of the most gifted artists I have ever listened to. Her music is very emotional and the instrumentals are very good. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to listen to a "real" singer.