my first cd

Tracy Chapman's self-titled album was the first cd I ever acquired. I got it for my tenth birthday after months of begging. I loved it and listened to it whenever possible. It was the first serious attachment I ever had to a cd and it continues even today.

When I first got the cd, I listened to it like crazy, but was often asked to turn it off because it was very depressing. To this day, my parents my parents will only listen to her newer recordings because they find her older music too disheartening. I see their point but love it nonetheless.

I put away Tracy Chapman's first cd for about ten years, pulling it out again this summer. I had heard a live rendition of "Mountains O' Things" and felt this incredible desire to hear the cd again. I have been playing it regularly since that afternoon.

Tracy Chapman's early music is very depressing and dark, but it also has a warmth to it that is very rarely found today. "Fast Car" is the song that first introduced me to Tracy Chapman. It is a song about poverty and unhappiness in the ghetto, a theme that runs rampant throughout the cd. While there is still her customary darkness, it is kind and thoughtful.

The songs that stand out most on the album are her love songs. "Baby Can I Hold You" and "For My Lover" are songs that are very easy to relate to. Her perceptions of love seem far more realistic than any of the pop that I hear today. Very easy to relate to, sing to, and cry to.

Overall, one of the best cds I own. This is a staple of any well-rounded music collection. Timeless and beautiful.