Customer Reviews

Deeper Still

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beth Nielsen Chapman has done it again...made me think, feel, and appreciate the many gifts that I have been given. Her self titled album and "You hold the key" spoke of things like the passage of time, friendship, birth, and death but most of all about love and relationships. She made me realize how meaningful a "Faithful Heart" can be and how much I wanted that kind of deep connection for myself. The love that she shared/shares with her husband was and is apparent in those albums as well as in the two albums since her husband passed away - "Sand and Water" and "Deeper Still." She expresses herself so eloquently and with such sincerity that I sometimes believe that I actually feel what she feels. Of course no one can ever fully know the depths of her pain, loss, and fear from losing her husband and dealing with her cancer, but she brings us as close as any great writer could.
Deeper Still has been difficult for me to listen to for exactly that reason. There is a part of me that wants to remain ignorant to the temporary nature of life as she sings "...cause all that we own we'll come to lose." I have been very fortunate to not have experienced much loss in my 34 years. I have my parents, siblings, husband, and children, and I am in good health basically "All I Have...is all I need." I can't imagine (don't want to imagine) ever having to say goodbye to any of them. As she wrote in a song on her self titled album "I'd have to be stronger than I wanna be if I had to live without you loving me."
So the question is why do I keep listening to "Deeper Still" if these truths are so hard to face? I think it's because these songs are just as much about life as they are about death. Beth seems to have come through these experiences with a very definate understanding of what is important (although she seems to have always appreciated the connections she shares with those closest to her.) Although it must be hard to have lost her husband she sees the love they had/have as a gift as she sings "In this life the love you give comes back around to be your treasure." Her messages of hope, faith, and love come through in her album because of her understanding of the temporary nature of our time on earth.
Beyond the meanings of her songs on "Deeper Still" there is a very spiritual quality to much of the music. Her voice reflects the feel of each song as she truly seems to be speaking (singing) from her heart. Many of the songs are complemented by other wonderful voices such as Bonnie Raitt, Vince Gill,and Emmylou Harris.
This album which I initially met with resistance has already become a favorite of mine. I look at all the gifts I have especially the deep connection I have with my husband with a renewed sense of appreciation. There are very few albums that have that deep of an affect on me. I would recommend this album to anyone who is willing to open their heart and their mind.
My wish for Beth Nielsen Chapman is that she continues to have improved health and that she has a future filled with love and hope.

You've got to hand it to Beth Nielsen Chapman. She somehow managed to release "Sand and Water" after quickly losing her husband to cancer, and just a few short years later after having lost her contract with Reprise and surviving a bout with Breast cancer herself, we are treated to "Deeper Still."

What can I say about this album? If you've enjoyed Beth's previous albums, you will also love this one. Her lyrics, her singing, her emotions are just as impressive as they've ever been. She is truly one of the most talented singer/songwriters in the business today and you owe it to yourself to hear her take on her own songs before, as usually happens, someone else in the country or pop fields re-records one and takes it to the top of the charts for themselves. Anyone comparing her performance of "Color of Roses" from the album of the same name to the version Lorrie Morgan performs on her latest album can hear the emotional power that Beth brings to her own songs. That's not to say Lorrie doesn't do a great job, but it pales compared to Beth's version.

For long time Beth Nielsen Chapman fans, or for those hearing her music for the first time, I'd recommend the tracks "Angels By My Side," "Wait for the Way" and "There's A Light," and that's just to start!

Her background vocalists are also notable, from Bonnie Raitt and long-time collaborator Annie Roboff on "Wait for the Way" to Vince Gill on the title track.

If you want to hear real music, real heart, and real emotion, you won't pass on "Deeper Still."

I ordered this album a couple of weeks ago and today it came in the mail. I sat down to sit back and enjoy....and wow!!!!! I was blown away by her vocals, poetic lyrics, and above anything...a tale of survival in an everchanging and not very kind world. Her songs on this collection run the full length of emotions....WORLD OF HURT which is basically her take on society at large and finding love in such a complicated universe as ours. ANGELS BY MY SIDE tells how she has been able to overcome so much pain and strife by believing someone is watching over her.....SHAKE MY SOUL is my favorite track with backing vocals by Bonnie Raitt and Annie Roboff...and the two closing tracks ALL FOR THE LOVE and THERE'S A LIGHT (backing vocals by Emmylou Harris) ends a wonderful album on an upbeat note....the note and moral being "THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE". If you want to be swept off your feet musically, savor this cd!

Beth Nielsen Chapman reaches deep and comes up with a universal set of gloriously profound songs. "World of Hurt" starts with a driving beat, an infectious pop melody & lyrics that touch the sky, "It's a lonely little planet made of dust & dirt; who'd ever think that in the midst of all this something as beautiful as love exists? I hold you; and you hold me; and heaven doesn't seem like such a mystery." Beth's piano expresses "Angels By My Side," a celestial melody. The piano on "Every December Sky" seems like it could be one of Joni Mitchell's classic arrangements from the Blue/Ladies of the Canyon period. We start to rock a bit on "Shake My Soul." Bonnie Raitt helps out on background vocals, "In the face that I wore as a child I can see myself; Everyday of my life I try to be myself." "Wait for the Way" is a distinctive melody extolling the virtues of patience with Beth & Bonnie creating a gorgeous vocal chorus. "All Comes Down to Love" is a classic track, great single material. The Beatlesque arrangement almost begs for John Lennon's voice to be joining in, "Yeah yeah yeah." The title track is a stately melody, "You will always have what you gave to love." John Ragusa's flute and Bill Miller's Native American touches punctuate the samba-like sway of "Sleep." "Feathers, Bones & Shells" is a melodious piano lament with John Catching's cello making sadness sound exquisite. "All for the Love" has some chunky percussion. The CD concludes with the stately "There's A Light" with Emmylou Harris mixed low in the background vocals. BNC has focused her personal trials into some of the most exquisitely profound music out. This CD could easily wind up on a "Best of 2002" list. Enjoy!

I wanted to rate this CD 5 stars, but I think that rating should be reserved for rare works that truly stand far above the run of the mill. This one is close, but rates only 4 in my book because, despite the extremely moving tunes and gorgeous lyrics, Beth Nielsen Chapman is only an average vocalist.

This is an extremely moving CD from beginning to end. It might not lift your heart, but it will stir your soul. And art is about moving you in some way, even if it is not always upbeat and happy.

Other reviewers have commented on the famous singers who have lent thier talents to back-up vocals. This, I think, is a tribute to the strength of the material that Ms. Chapman has created.

Other reviewers have also commented on indvidual songs. The one that moved me most is called, "Sleep" as I recall. On it, Ms. Chapman sings of "The same heartcrushing sorrow, the same unspeakable loveliness... all at the same time." These lyrics could describe the entire CD.

I have been a fan of Beth Neilsen Chapman since I heard her perform "Sand and Water" on TV. I then spent 6 months trying to find the album. "Sand and Water" led me to her other albums. I fell in love with them all, and eagerly awaited the release of "Deeper Still." I'm very glad to say I wasn't disappointed in the least. The songs on this album are what I've come to expect from her: moving, truthful, and unique. The piano work on "Every December Sky" is beautiful, the upbeat optimism of "World of Hurt" is refreshing, and "The Feathers, the Bones, and the Shells" is a haunting piece about the transience of all we hold dear. This is a great work in the portfolio of an artist I hope to hear much, much more from.

This disk came after Chapman not only weathered her husband's cancer death (inspiration for SAND AND WATER) but made it through her own bout with breast cancer. Unfortunately, where her husband's tragedy made for beautiful art in the case of SAND AND WATER, Beth's own affliction didn't seem to bring the muses as readily. There are some wonderful moments here, but overall it's not as consistent as SAND AND WATER was in plumbing the depths of her emotions. As in the past, it's on the uptempo numbers Chapman falters while the ballads are surefooted and nearly universally stellar.

HIGHLIGHTS:
"Every December Sky" uses the fallen leaves of autumn as a metaphor for mortality. ("And every leaf of fire lets go/melting in the arms of Earth and snow") Bonnie Raitt guests along with frequent songwriting partner Annie Roboff on "Wait for the Way", an ode to having patience while "time heals all wounds". The title track is the finest paraphrase of "it's better to have loved and lost" I've heard. A pennywhistle and Vince Gill's harmony bolster the track, summed up in its final line "you will always have what you gave to love". "Sleep" is Chapman's paean to world music, incorporating Native American flute, Tibetan bowl, Conch shell and street sounds of an Indian market in its unorthodox arrangement. Chapman imagines death as a place with "wondrous wings and blinded eyes/that see even beyond seeing/The same heartbreaking sorrow/The same unspeakable loveliness/All at the same time/How beautiful and sad". "Feathers Bones and Shells" reminds us of how fragile life is, that "nothing escapes/the wind blowing through/the feathers, bones and shells". Beth's accompanied only by her piano and John Catching's cello. "There's a Light" is a non-denominational hymn of sorts, asserting "To this world we will die/but our hearts know/We'll see more on that side/when the door opens wide/We will fly, we will fly/we will all go". The restrained arrangement never allows itself to crest into bathos. Emmylou Harris and Kimmie Rhodes add subtle harmony as Chapman ends the album with the antithesis of opener "World of Hurt".

LOWS:
The mechanized electronic drum drone of "All for the Love" feels out of place in the context of the mostly organic sounds Chapman has offered on the bulk of the album. It's no so much "poor" as poorly used. It might have been better held onto for a future project where it would sound of a piece. It may just be incredible coincidence, but "All Comes Down to Love" sounds AMAZINGLY close musically to the PUSH STARS "Drunk is Better than Dead". At least, I'm hoping it's just astounding coincidence. The acoustic guitar parts are identical..the song is OK but the smell of plagairism ruins it for me.

BOTTOM LINE:
This still is quite a contemplative album and not "sunny pop" by any means, but it's not as laden with melancholy as SAND AND WATER was. Though I feel S.A.W. was a better work of art, you may find yourself putting this one in the player more often.

Very simple lyrics and comes with lyrics on the jacket too! I love this CD. Listened to it all day yesterday and today... If you like her previous Sand and Water be warned this is much different. It is quite religious but not in a preachy way, more spiritual. All the songs seem quite good, except I can't seem to figure out "deeper still". Guess what? I think that's a good thing! Keep searching, and if you are thinking about buying this CD I would strongly recommend it!

This is basically a quiet, reflective CD. This is what one would expect from Chapman but given recent events in her life there is a new depth and sadness in her music. Most will agree that she is known better as a songwriter than a singer. Still, she has a lovely voice and writes great music. This is late night music. Its for thinking and dreaming.

I recently downloaded "Deeper Still" from Itunes & it quickly became a new favorite of mine. Every song on this CD is beyond beautiful and "deep", containing important life insights & connecting with feelings we've all experienced at one point or another in our lives.

In each song Beth connects with her listens in a most beautiful & profound way - it is truly awesome!

I would categorize this music as folk or folk-rock. However, on this particular CD, there is also a celtic-flare to several of the songs.

So, if you like "folk-rock"-type music & music that touches your heart, then this CD is for you! I honestly can't recommend it highly enough!