Details
Track Listing
1. Bang Bang Bang
2. So
3. I Used to Be a Sailor
4. Love That You Had, The
5. Woman's Work
6. If These Are the Things
7. Short Supply
8. Dreaming on a World
9. Open Arms
10. Matters of the Heart
Album Notes
Personnel: Tracy Chapman (vocals, acoustic guitar); Bobby Womack (acoustic guitar); Mike Campbell (guitar, mandolin); Waddy Wachtel, Vernon Reid (guitar); Roy Bittan (accordion, keyboards); Charles Judge, Larry Williams (keyboards); Randy Jackson, Tony Levin, Larry Klein, Bob Glaub (bass); Manu Katche, Omar Hakim (drums); Mino Cinelu, Steve Thornton, Michael Fisher, Alex Acuna (percussion).
Engineers include: Thom Panunzio, Bradshaw Leigh, Niko Bolaso.
Chapman's debut and its quickly produced follow-up CROSSROADS sound very much alike. While not a total departure, 1992's MATTERS OF THE HEART has a much different, richer sound. Subtle elements of world music, blues, and jazz enrich the folk-based starkness of the previous records. Unfortunately, this album was slightly too different for many of Chapman's early fans, and the incorrect received wisdom claims that it's a creative misstep.
The more textured arrangements and Jimmy Iovine's slick but not sterile production support Chapman's lyrics without overpowering them, and those lyrics are more mature and personal than before. The sometimes-empty sloganeering of CROSSROADS is at the barest minimum here, with Chapman instead focusing on character sketches like the thoroughly lovely "I Used to Be a Sailor" and the delicate title track. One of Tracy Chapman's finest.
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