''Telling Stories'' is the fifth album by American 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 on February 14, 2000, by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. A two-disc special edition was released in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 2000. The album is composed of contemporary rock songs in the first half, and folk songs in the second half. The record marked a return to shorter songs for Tracy; on ''New Beginning'' they had been somewhat longer.

Background and Writing

In 1999, Chapman began working on her first new record in four years, her longest ever hiatus at the time. For the record, she reunited with producer

David Kershenbaum David Kershenbaum is an American record producer and entrepreneur, born in Springfield, Missouri. He has worked with many artists including Duran Duran, Tracy Chapman, Joe Jackson, Laura Branigan, Bryan Adams, Supertramp, Cat Stevens, Elkie Br ...

, the producer of her first album, ''

'' (1988), and co-producer of her second album, ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' (1989). The song "Unsung Psalm" was originally written for her previous album, '' New Beginning'' (1995), but it didn't make it onto the album.

Track listing

All songs written by Tracy Chapman.

Cover versions

* "Three Little Birds" is a

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

cover. The song was originally released on the album ''

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

'' in 1977. * "House of the Rising Sun" is a cover of a traditional folk song. It was firstly released by Ashley and Foster on the single '' Rising Sun Blues'' under the same title in 1933.

Trivia

* "Three Little Birds" was recorded at the TNT concert and television special ''One Love: An All Star Tribute to Bob Marley'' in

Oracabessa Oracabessa is a small town in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica east of Ocho Rios. Its population was 4,108 in 2009. Lit in the afternoons by an apricot light that may have inspired its Spanish name, ''Oracabeza'', or "Golden Head", Oracabessa's comme ...

on December the 4th, 1999. * "House of the Rising Sun" was recorded at the Greek Theatre,

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

and the A&M Studios in

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in 1990. It seems, that it is actually more a live in the studio recording than a real live recording because you don't hear any crowd noise. * "Mountains o' Things" was recorded at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

on July the 4th, 1988. * "Behind the Wall" was recorded at

The Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by M ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on March the 25th, 1988. * "Baby Can I Hold You" is the same version as the one that was originally released on the album ''

'' in 1988.

Personnel

Musicians

Technical personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

''Billboard'' (United States)

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2000 albums Albums produced by David Kershenbaum Elektra Records albums Tracy Chapman albums