''New Beginning'' is the fourth album by singer-songwriter

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and " Give Me One Reason". Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...

, released in 1995. According to

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, it is her biggest-selling recording since 1991, with 3.8 million copies sold, and according to the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, it has shipped five million copies in the United States. The album's sound consists of Chapman's trademark acoustic folk-rock sound and is mainly made up of slow low-key tunes and a few upbeat tracks. One notable exception is the hit " Give Me One Reason", which is a blues piece. Chapman earned the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Song The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...

for the track, and it was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the

Grammy Awards of 1997 The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni ...

. The song "Unsung Psalm" was originally written and recorded for this album, but was cut. It was later included on her 2000 album '' Telling Stories''. According to Billboard Magazine, the "New Beginning" single was the first disc to have a sticker printed on the back of the packaging detailing system requirements to play the multi-media footage. The use of a

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo wa ...

in the "New Beginning" track was a source of controversy. Chapman was taught to play at the Didgeridoo University in Alice Springs; however, the use of a didgeridoo by women is taboo in many aboriginal nations. The album also featured an extensive use of backup singers, which was very rare in Chapman's earlier works.

Track listing

All songs written by Tracy Chapman. #"Heaven's Here on Earth" – 5:23 #"New Beginning" – 5:33 #"Smoke and Ashes" – 6:39 #"Cold Feet" – 5:40 #"At This Point in My Life" – 5:09 #"The Promise" – 5:28 #"The Rape of the World" – 7:07 #"Tell It Like It Is" – 6:08 #" Give Me One Reason" – 4:31 #"Remember the Tinman" – 5:45 #"I'm Ready" – 4:56 #"Save a Place for Me" (hidden track)

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards

39th Annual Grammy Awards The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni ...

References

{{Authority control Tracy Chapman albums 1995 albums Albums produced by Don Gehman Elektra Records albums Blues albums by American artists