For the second half of September, I’m putting my Mental Jukebox into a time machine, featuring the best songs on the best albums from the very best years of music. #70sThrough90sBestAlbum
Some musicians take a little longer to appreciate. That was the case for me with Tracy Chapman and her debut album. “Fast Car” was getting tons of radio airplay, but it wasn’t until I heard the full album that I really started to appreciate what she was doing that no one else was at the time. Some songs grabbed me instantly, like “Baby Can I Hold You” and “Mountains O’Things”. Others eventually got my full, undivided attention after a few listens, and none more so than “Across the Lines”.
“Across the Lines” was genius folk songwriting. It was at another level. This was a black singer giving us a sober look at the world she knew. The song combined the socio-political conscience of Dylan with the raw Americana portraits of Springsteen. It took an incredibly candid, minimalist approach with nowhere to hide. While other artists were wielding their electric guitars, firing up their synthesizers and screaming into their mics, Tracy was strumming on an acoustic and singing from her soul.
“Choose sides. Run for your life. Tonight the riots begin on the back streets of America. They kill the dream of America.”