Customer Reviews
utter compassion - By: Traveller, 25 Jun 2010 
What an utterly compassionate voice Tracy Chapman possesses.
Fast Car, Revolution, SubCity, & The Promise are stand out tracks - but they're all good, including Baby can I hold you - the original & much better than Boyzone's cover - plus many other gems. Good quality songs beautifully performed. Musicians include Russ Kunkel & Randy Jackson.
Great for those who need a taster of tracy chapman - By: Iorek, 13 Aug 2009 Other reviewers have aready said the great things that i wanted to say about tracy chapman so I will not bore the reader by repeating it all.
I first bought thisin about 1998, I had not even heard of Tracy chapman, but I had heard of "fast car", which I coudnt get enough of. Since then, all I ever listened to on my CD PLAYER (there was no mp3 players back then haha) was this album.
This album truely does have all the best songs from her previous albums (altough there are a few more i would have added). It is becuase of this album I bought all the other older ones to see what the other songs were like. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who has been intrigued by this very under rated singer-song writer, who has heard a few songs off the radio but wonders what the rest of her songs were like.
Trust me, it will be the best album you buy :-)
I'd forgotten what I was missing - By: Big Bertha, 04 Mar 2009 Not a fan or follower of Ms Chapman's music, I only recently re-discovered her music & this album has some of my favourites from years gone by & more recent tracks that I've not heard before. Her soulful voice filled with angst & the wonderful lyrics makes for a great easy listening collection.
'The promise', a track I don't recall hearing prior to buying this album is outstanding with the most beautiful lyrics, possibly one of the most meaningful songs I've ever heard.
A 'must-have' collection for anyone who ever liked this singer & only recently having re-found Tracy Chapman, I'd forgotten what I was missing
A truly beautiful CD, near-faultless and genuinely poetic - By: Martin, 31 Mar 2005 Many artists have attempted to sum up the sadness & frustrations of thosein impovershed communities. In doing so, many of these have aimed to offer genuine hope & encouragement at the same time. Issues such as poverty, gun crime, & oppression of working classes & ethnic minorities are not unusual song subjects. And yet, from punk to gangsta rap, I would defy you to find an artist who can sum them all up so eloquently & compassionately as Tracy Chapman.
The collection (chosen by Tracy herself) opens with Fast Car, the song which made her a star almost overnight. With its beautiful & subtle melody, the song draws the attention immediately, but the lyrics are the real star, delivering a bittersweet message about socail problems & the difficulty of breaking free. Baby Can I Hold You & Talkin 'Bout A Revolution are both among her most famous tracks, & both actually date from her teenage years. One is a beautiful & world-wise look at futile attempts to rebuild a relationship, the other a paean to anyone looking to turn the tables ont hose who oppress & disregard them. These would be amazing compositions from anyone of any age, let alone a teenager.
That she didn't remain a true mainstrem artistin the following years strikes me as unfortuante. While she has touched many people & continues to do so today, & surely made a reasonable living, the reality is that people have missed out not only on beautiful songs, but also on what could be the template for a better world (the liner notes allude to this - I thought it was exaggerated pretentious rubbish, until I listened to the CD).
If I may pick out a few further highlights, Bang Bang Bang is an obvious choice. I write thisin the wake of another US school shooting, & the day after numerous UK newspapers praised a teacher for shooting at two local children she regarded as hooligans (I suspect they'd've been more impressed if she'd hit them). And yet this song sums up the sheer myopia of these attitudes, knowign that what was once a frightened & insecure child can quickly become a blood-thirsty & dangerous monster, & a gun is not the way to prevent this & harness one's potential.
The Promise is another standout, imploring us to find "a place for mein your heart", which also works on a general level of searching for some truth & humanityin the world out there. Speak the Word also typifies both her more personal material & the ligher side of her personality, with a real poignancy & style. Closing the collection is All That You Have Is Your Soul, anotehr tale of attempting to put what's real & meaningful above the superficial. "Don't be tempted by the shiny apple, don't you eat of a bitter fruit, hunger only for a taste of justic, hunger only for a world of truth, as all that you have is your soul". Rarely have truer words been spoken.
A Great Intoduction To A Fantastic Artist - By: Ben, 22 Jan 2005 The only gripe I have about this album is that some people may just buy this 'collection' album & expect that this is as good as it gets. The truth is every Tracy Chapman album is sensational & this though a good start has missed several Tracy gems which appear on the other albums...
Back to this collection, it'sin my opinion the best 'greatest hits' album available - you cannot deny the talent Tracy has, she's a great song writter, has a fantastic & unique voice.
The songs choosen for this album are faultless, You have the well known tracks 'Fast Car', 'Baby Can I Hold You' & 'Talkin' Bout A Revolution' - but every track here is sublime, my personal favs are including the one's mentioned are 'Smoke And Ashes', 'Crossroads', 'Telling Stories', 'Give Me One Reason', actually I love them all. Each song is as breath taking, thought provoking beautiful & just as sublime as the next.
overall mark: 99.9%
