Beth Nielsen Chapman - Sand & Water

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Music reviews of Sand & Water

Music Review: Adding regrets to the tears and color of roses
Rating: 5 Stars

In coping, it's clear Beth tries to take things philosophically. The dual dynamics of life are explored in the piano and strings ballad "The Color of Roses" "Life gives us magic/and life brings us tragedy/everyone suffers some loss/still we have some faith in it"

"Beyond The Blue" which includes some excerpts from the Paramahansa Yogananda Cosmic Chants demonstrates her gentle but soaring vocals, which has a gentle substance like Carole King or Karla Bonoff, but smoother. "This life is but a dream/go gently down the stream..." seems to have a Taoist element in there.

The stresses of everyday burning away "All The Time In The World" is a mid-paced light country rocker. "These precious days we live through/thrown away like tissue/I wish I could give you all the time in the world" she sings. And she further sings she would dodge cops, jump ditches, and drive eighty miles an hour just to do that.

The title track is just as tearful as "The Color of Roses" as it shows how we are forced to do some things "all alone", such as trying to find meaning amid the pain, in Chapman's case, this meaning her loss and how she will have to raise their son by herself. "All alone I came into this world/all alone I will someday die/solid stone is just sand and water, baby/sand and water, and a million years gone by" goes the chorus. Chapman got a shot in the arm when Elton John heard this and began performing it live.

"Fair Enough" veers more light guitar jazz than the country rock or melodic ballads. "Seven Shades Of Blue" is an intimate folk song featuring Michael McDonald as a guest vocalist. A very tactile song at one point, where she describes the rain like "little knives upon our tongues."

"Happy Girl" is a more upbeat number about the transformation going from "a face of stone and a heart of gloom", "standing in a corner wearing concrete shoes" to "roll[ing] my heart out like a welcome mat." The harmonica, mandolin, and bandoleon give this a more folky tinge, kind of like Mellencamp during his Lonesome Jubilee days.

"No One Knows But You" is another piano ballad, where she sings about feeling her lost one's presence. The bridge totally shows her devotion: "And if there is some magic/some way around these stars/.../I'll cry this empty canyon/an ocean full of tears."

Bonnie Raitt shows up as guest vocalist for "Heads Up For The Wrecking Ball" a song about keeping oneself solid in the mean old world, and to do the title thing. Slide dulcimers, accordions, and dobros give this a slight folky tinge.

"Say Goodnight", as opposed to saying goodbye, is another coping mechanism for loss. Another tearful piano and strings ballad that closes the album, although there is a brief instrumental of "The Color Of Roses" that's on the same track.

A few tissues for the more soft-hearted is recommended on songs like the title track, "The Color of Roses" and "Say Goodnight." This is a very personal album and Chapman finds an effective way to cope with her loss. After listening to this, I feel like giving her a nice warm hug and saying "It's gonna be okay."

Description of Sand & Water

Broadway & Vocalists CDs

• Music > Styles
• Country
• Folk
• Pop
• Rock