BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN
Look Sanctuary
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The description "adult-oriented music" is frequently used as a term of derision. In Beth Nielsen Chapman's case, the term should be understood to mean music of honesty, sensitivity and no little class. This American songwriter is no respecter of musical labels. There is white soul (a great duet with Michael McDonald on Right Back Into the Feeling), country, rock, folk and many parts in between. What holds it all together is her clear, beautifully rounded voice, a voice that has known joy and pain and not always in equal measure. But this is no victim. In the manner of Shaun Colvin, Chapman speaks up for the middle-aged woman, and her voice is strong and wise, as she sings in Free. There are more good songs than bad on this album and more great songs than good, all produced with verve and intelligence by Peter Collins. www.bethnielsenchapman.com - Joe Breen
J.J. CALE
To Tulsa and Back Capitol
****
"No, they're all basically the same, they all kinda sound the same." J.J. Cale was reviewing his 14-album career, including his latest, his first in eight years, for www.jambase.com. But that sound is his own, recognisable and timeless. Now 65, the Oklahoma guitarist and songwriter is a model of modesty. The soft shuffle of his arrangements and the gentle unhurried, piquant tone of his guitar are as much a trademark as his whispered voice, his low profile and the infectious burr of his songs. Cale hasn't sounded so engaged for some time. Reunited with Tulsa old buddies, the bulk of the 13 tracks deal with relationships, but he has time to take a poke at George Bush and environment policies. It's like meeting up with an old friend and realising that nothing much has changed. www.jjcale.com - Joe Breen
