Tracy Chapman - Where You Live (Japanese Release) (2005)

Tracy Chapman's seventh studio album, Where You Live, is not only a reflection of the issues concerning her own domicile but of the wider tribalist rancourings--class, race, religion and the economic divide--which fracture human accord. She's no ribbons and bows girl. Her spiritual (at least in a humanist sense) folk muse has often appeared hostile to window-dressing and affection (didn't Boyzone really miss the point by a mile with "Baby Can I Hold You"?) and the naked but steely-resolved material on "Where I Live" requires a commitment from the listener to eek out the essence.

There's the terrifying personal assault tale of "3000 Miles" ("Soft skin against the cold concrete...i'll die here soon if i don't leave") and on a less individual footing the disgusted, martial-booted "America", like some nightmarish resurrection of Bob Dylan's "115th Dream" for the neo-conservative generation. Equally blessed are "Change" (surely Chapman's most mainstream-friendly venture since "Fast Car") and the ruefully blue "Don't Dwell", a timid unsentimental shiver of a warmer past. --Kevin Maidment