Two years after Tracy Chapman was catapulted back into the public spotlight by Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car,” the groundbreaking singer-songwriter is reissuing the acclaimed album the song originally hailed from, and is hinting at the possibility of new music.
The vinyl reissue of the album — Chapman’s 1988 debut record, Tracy Chapman — officially arrived on April 4th via Rhino (order here), after a years-long process working with original producer David Kershenbaum and the label to faithfully recreate the original record’s appearance and spirit.
Speaking with Billboard, Chapman explained how proud she feels of the record, both the original and the reissue. “I was [proud] the day that we finished it and in the days when we were making it — it holds up for me,” she said. “I have a lot of positive feelings about the whole process… what was created and then, now, what [we] managed to achieve by bringing it back.”
Related Video
Elsewhere, she spoke about performing with Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards, saying “I was quite weepy after, for some time. Not so much from having played the song, but from the emotional experience of it all.” To that end, now felt like the perfect time for a vinyl reissue of Tracy Chapman, which had become quite the rare collector’s item due to its unavailability.
“It just seemed like, ‘Okay, this is a moment to do it because people have this renewed interest in vinyl and obviously this record was so extremely important to me and my career as a songwriter,’” Chapman said. The vinyl is available to order here.
Chapman also alluded to the possibility of new music and live engagements, saying “If I were to tour, I would tour for something new, new material… That would be the thing that would be most interesting to me at this point. And that’s always the case. Whenever someone asks, ‘What’s your favorite song?’ It’s always the one I’m writing at the time.”
Indeed, Chapman hasn’t confirmed anything, but hinted that new music is constantly being worked on. “I said it before, but maybe no one believed it, that I’m always playing and I’m always writing songs. I’ve been doing it since I was 8 years old. It’s just part of my DNA. It’s part of who I am.”
Tracy Chapman Artwork:
Tracy Chapman Tracklist:
01. Talkin’ Bout a Revolution
02. Fast Car
03. Across the Lines
04. Behind the Wall
05. Baby Can I Hold You
06. Mountains O’Things
07. She’s Got Her Ticket
08. Why?
09. For My Lover
10. If Not Now…
11. For You
Content shared from consequence.net.