About to enter
the world of Narnia
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It’s been
five years since Chapman’s last studio album. But she’s got a decent
enough excuse for waiting so long before releasing Deeper Still.
Lileth Burgetta
In 1997 her
husband Ernest died of cancer.
Shortly after
she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Recording had
to wait while she fought and overcame the illness.
Under such circumstance
you’d be forgiven for thinking Deeper Still would be a collection
of maudlin songs looking on the black side of life. Far from it.
Chapman has
used her traumatic experiences to inspire others and the vast majority
of songs in this collection offer hope when all hope might seem
lost.
Lines like "There’s
a light in the darkness, and the black of night cannot harm us"
and "what you lose will be what you win, too deep to measure," evidence
of the hope she wants to convey.
There’s no
escaping the past. Many of these songs are an escape for her grieving.
On the whole
the pace remains upbeat but tracks like There’s A Light are more
reminiscent of a hymn at a Sunday church service.
Sounding like
Judy Collins, Chapman is well know for writing songs for the likes
of Faith Hill.
She calls in
some favours on Deeper Still with Vince Gill, Bonnie Raitt and John
Hiatt helping out.
Deeper Still
is an album with a central theme of love overcoming all ills.
It’s strong
point comes in the many ways this message is delivered – the songs
vary in style so much.
Pick of the
bunch is Sleep, a track which begins with wildtrack recorded by
Chapman in Indian and utilising instruments like Tibetan bowl and
conch shells.
Deeper Still
is released on Sanctuary SANCD122
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