Recording
Chapman started writing songs when she was immediately signed to Elektra Records. Koppelman started finding producers for the album with the demo tape of her single "Talkin' Bout a Revolution". However, many producers turned her music down, due to the more mainstream impact of dance-pop and synthpop during the eighties. They then found David Kershenbaum, and stated "I'd been looking for something acoustic to do for some time There was a sense in the industry of a slight boredom with everything out there and that people might be willing to listen again to lyrics and to someone who made statements."
However, Chapman's greatest concern during her meetings with Kershenbaum was that the integrity of her songs remain intact, because she wanted to record "real simple"." Kershenbaum said "I wanted to make sure that she was in front, vocally and thematically, and that everything was built around her." Every single song that was featured on the result of the studio album was featured on her demo tape, except for "Fast Car", which resulted as one of the last songs recorded on the album. The first time she sung and performed "Fast Car" infront of Kershenbaum, he stated that he "loved it the minute I heard it."
Tracy Chapman was, in total, only recorded in eight weeks at Powertrax, Kershenbaum's Hollywood studio. When David was interviewed in 2002 by The Guardian, he stated that a lot of the public wanted "what she had" and said "And they weren't getting it. She got there at the right moment with stuff that was good." Chapman was also interview and talked about the background of the album. She said "The first record is seen as being more social commentary... more political. But I think that's just all about perspective."
In an interview with The Guardian in 1996, she revealed "My first record was almost not my first record." The proposed producer for the studio album was killed in a car accident and the record company called in someone far less experienced to take over. Basically, the album talks about political and social aspects, along with personal aspects which is very evident in her single "Fast Car".
Read more about this topic: Tracy Chapman (album)
Famous quotes containing the word recording:
“Write while the heat is in you.... The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Too many photographers try too hard. They try to lift photography into the realm of Art, because they have an inferiority complex about their Craft. You and I would see more interesting photography if they would stop worrying, and instead, apply horse-sense to the problem of recording the look and feel of their own era.”
—Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870–1942)
“Self-expression is not enough; experiment is not enough; the recording of special moments or cases is not enough. All of the arts have broken faith or lost connection with their origin and function. They have ceased to be concerned with the legitimate and permanent material of art.”
—Jane Heap (c. 1880–1964)