Customer Reviews

Matters of the Heart

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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If you're interested in this CD solely because you heard "Fast Car" on the radio and liked the sound, this is probably not the best Chapman CD to start with. Tracy Chapman spoiled her fast fans by coming out w/ 2 incredible CDs, one after another, filled with songs instantly ready for radio airplay.

Then, poof! She vanished for a couple of years before she came out with this 3rd installment. The hiatus introduced a different sound... it's still Tracy Chapman, but different somehow, and not the same exact flavor of the previous albums.

Fans of Chapman will still like this CD... I usually have all my Chapman CDs in the 6-disc player and hit the "shuffle" button so I get a good, rounded-out mix. Her voice is flawless and unique. The messages are the same... love stories, racial equality and the downside of the persuit of material gain. Great songs, but perhaps not for the casual listener of Chapman radio hits.

After an international best selling first album, Tracy has allowed her musical integrity, and not commercial success, to dictate her subsequent career. Her four albums to date have been progressively more sophisticated and beautifully produced. Matters of the Heart (the third) is my favourite. Possibly my favourite album of all time. A deep, sophisticated, introspective, subtly melodic, intricately textured, album, with typically socially conscious lyrics, sung with Tracy's characteristically longing, passionate phrasing. Like many of the classic albums that truly endure, it may take many listens before you really appreciate it, but each new playing will reveal more of the beauty of this brilliant album.

If you are a Chapman fan, take the time to get and listen to this maserpiece that unfortunately did not get the acclaim it deserved. The work on this CD is touching and will give you the same critically social meanings that we have come to know and love in Tracy's work. Get this for your collection.

Critics and fans tend to treat Matters of the Heart as a creative misstep, but the album is rewarding to the serious Chapman listener. This is a quiet, contemplative album free of songs with pop hooks for airplay. There is no artifice to songs like "I Used to Be a Sailor," where she captures the frustration of a sailor trapped on dry land. The rhythm of the song is like the waves of the sea; the structure of the song itself expresss why the sailor is seduced my motion. The listener's mind, like his, is on the sea.

The album ends with the thoughtful and literate title track and you realize that you've arrived at the end without the artist pandering to her audience for even a moment. This is a strong and brave album which deserves a second look from any serious Chapman fan, whether they prefer her earlier "Fast Car" days or her later "comeback" phase.

Enter Tracy's world of love, forgiveness and peace. Wonderfully crafted songs, which make one hopeful for a better world in the future for our children. She is truly one of the "kind hearts" amidst today's super hectic music business. She is a light in a dark world. She is a singer with a beautiful soul.

This album is aptly named. Tracy does get into the heart of the matter with a lot of matter and a lot of heart. This is good music which expresses a lot of truth and realism without getting lost in anger or sentimentality.

Tracy - you go girl! love her! I have all of her CDs, 5 I think, and a couple singles. she is Great! bluesy and reminiscent of Nina Simone, perfect for doing housework to. my dear hubby, Norman, puts on a Tracy CD to get me in the mood - for housecleaning. oh, we've made love to Tracy too, plenty of times, but for doing dishes and folding laundry, she's a must. buy this one for Bang Bang Bang & Matters of the Heart. then buy all her other ones, you'll like them all.

Length:: 0:40 Mins

I love her music and have for 20+ years. I am never disappointed in her material or using this site from which to order all of my CD'S

In Matters of the Heart, Chapman delves into profound topics, as always, using wonderful imagery in describing home life, sadness, and dreams (both the sleeping and yearning kind). It was beautifully created and produced in ways similar to albums by Suzanne Vega. "Open Arms" (not a re-make of the Journey song of the same name) is touching and powerful, and is another example of her music about home and family. "Dreaming on a World" is an anthem of hope for the world. One wonders if Chapman's original title included "of a world" before she changed it to "on a world" to give it another dimension of meaning. The title song is completely sincere and shows vulnerability more powerful than most songs about aggression or determination. This is an album that will truly stand the test of time.