New Beginning by Tracy Chapman

New Beginning, Tracy Chapman's fourth album, came out on Elektra in 1995, and it turned into a runaway seller, with five million copies shipped in the States. Don Gehman produced, keeping her trademark acoustic folk rock front and center: mostly slow, low-lit songs that take their time, stretching well past radio length, with a handful of livelier moments. There's more of a crowd around her than usual, too, with backing singers all over it, and the title track even works in a didgeridoo.

The odd one out is the hit. "Give Me One Reason" is a lean, smoky blues, Chapman sounding loose and bone-dry over a slow-rolling groove, and it won her the Grammy for Best Rock Song, with nods for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance besides.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.