Daily Staff Writer

“Telling Stories”

Tracy Chapman

On “Telling Stories,” Tracy Chapman continues to sing about the nuances of relationships, most often ones that have gone bad.

The album has a more produced sound than some of Chapman’s previous work, but the arrangements remain fairly simple. Several of the songs incorporate drums, electric guitar and bass, and even some vocal effects.

The production gives the album a little variety but, at her best, Chapman is such a passionate songwriter that it is unnecessary. Unfortunately, “Telling Stories” is not Chapman at her best.

The album starts off with the title track, a sweet, jangly rocker. Chapman’s rich voice brings the song to life as she muses “There is fiction in the space between you and me.”

A series of forgettable love songs fill the album’s midsection, but it comes back to life with “Unsung Psalm,” a poignant hymn sung from the point of view of someone realizing they’ve lived their life badly, pursuing a love that was never meant to be. The regret of the lover blends perfectly with the images of religious damnation, making the song a powerful statement about the effect love can have on the soul.

What is really lacking on “Telling Stories” are the sharp edged political statements Chapman has made in the past. Many of us were introduced to Chapman by the defiant “Talkin’ About a Revolution,” but nothing on “Telling Stories” approaches such a powerful statement.

“Nothing Yet,” and “Paper and Ink” make watered down observations about the hypocrisy of the world, but are too lost in their own prose to have much of an impact.

Even without the emotional core that fans have come to expect from Chapman, “Telling Stories” still showcases Chapman’s talents as a songwriter, as well as her amazingly powerful vocals.

The only disappointment is the fact that “Telling Stories” is a mediocre album from an excellent songwriter.

3 Stars

— Ben Godar

“Supreme Clientele”

Ghostface Killah

How many times have you left the mall with your new album, ran to the car while trying to get the damn wrapper off, only to put it into your CD player and weep because it is just horrid?

To save you from another journey to the “We purchase all your crappy CDs” store, avoid Ghostface Killah’s “Supreme Clientele.”

The infamous Wu-Tanger’s newest release, “Supreme Clientele,” takes on the flashy, metallic, “Saturday Night Fever” genre everyone seems to be trying to incorporate.

There are many key elements that go into a great rap album, including a great bass line, a danceable rhythm and phat rhymes. “Supreme Clientele” lacks some of these key elements many times throughout the album and, at times, it has none.

You’ll probably find yourself checking to see if your stereo is skipping because of the redundancy of the songs. Anyone who is familiar with Ghostface knows that he often introduces songs with clips from movies and other media sources. Usually, these clips have at least some minor correlation with what his song is supposed to be getting across. While selecting the clips for “Supreme Clientele,” it seems like Ghostface may have been smoking a little too much of that green he is always talking about.

This 21 track release (the CD case only reads that it has 14 songs) has a very unique sound and surely isn’t a mainstream hip-hop album. The style of Ghostface Killah is definitely an acquired one.

If you don’t mind listening to someone rap to what sounds like Sinatra-era piano, this one’s for you. For you hard core Wu-Tang Clan fans, this will be another addition to your catalog.

Other than that, Ghostface might want to consider making like a ghost and cashing in on the fact that he can consider himself a member of Wu-Tang.

1 1/2 Stars.

— Michael Greene

Various Artists

“The Beach”

Boom, Cha, Boom Boom Cha — that’s pretty much what you get with the soundtrack to “The Beach.”

The album features a variety of electronic artists including Leftfield, Orbital and Moby, and even a raved up remix of Blur’s “On Your Own.”

The soundtrack also includes Sugar Ray’s “Spinning Away,” a half-calypso massacre that sounds like the love child of Jimmy Buffett and the Spin Doctors.

One of the more enjoyable tracks on the album is Moby’s “Porcelain.” The song blends a rich variety of sounds to create a gentle melody, with a strong hip-hop beat underneath.

New Order’s “Brutal” is a guitar thick slice of power pop, and probably the catchiest song on the album.

For anyone who didn’t get enough Leonardo DiCaprio voice-overs from the “Titanic” soundtrack, “Beached,” by Angelo Badalamenti and Orbital will be welcome. For anyone else, it will just be another dull dance track.

“The Beach” sounds like a film soundtrack. Some of the tracks are smooth and ambient, like All Saints’ “Pure Shoes,” others are more aggressive, like Leftfield’s “Snakeblood,” but all feel like they should be background behind a full-scale Hollywood production. Each track calls to mind sweeping cinematography and exciting action sequences.

The songs on “The Beach” have been sequenced very well, each song smoothly glides into the next, making it great background music to put on while doing something else.

3 Stars

— Ben Godar

“Save the World, Lose the Girl”

Midtown

With their full-length debut on Drive-Thru Records, “Save the World, Lose the Girl,” New Jersey quartet Midtown follows in the footsteps of home-state friends Saves the Day combining emotional rock ‘n’ roll with obvious hardcore and punk influences.

Midtown can basically be summed up as the Get Up Kids with a side of Alkaline Trio, but at a faster, more Fat Wreck Chords-style pace.

Midtown’s sound, although not revolutionary, gives the listener something different.

They shout their thoughtful lyrics with intense emotion comparable to that of any hardcore band, but they do it more melodically. It’s almost hard to tell on many songs whether or not the three vocalists are screaming or singing.

“Just Rock and Roll,” the leadoff track, is your basic pop-punk anthem about the misunderstanding between the genders. On songs like “Direction” and “No Place Feels Like Home,” Midtown strays away from the norm, taking the listener to a more emotional level with slower, more-melodic songs and clever, more thought-provoking lyrics.

The catchy chorus on “No Place Feels Like Home” rings out, “I wanted to tell you I miss it/ I just wanted to let you know/ The last year has helped me grow.”

The finale track, “Frayed Ends,” is an acoustic ballad featuring the band’s tremendous three-piece harmonies, which they proudly display throughout the entire album.

What Midtown has done is not groundbreaking by any means but they have given the emotional scene an entirely new viewpoint by adding quite a few ideas to a vastly growing genre.

4 Stars

— Dewayne Hankins

Ratings based on a 5 Star scale