Deeper Still

• Artist: Beth Nielsen Chapman
• Rating:
• Release Date: March 26, 2002
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Country

Review

Biblical imagery mixes with down-home poetics on Deeper Still. With a sound stripped of studio tinsel, Chapman delivers her material in earnest understatement over crisp, if antiseptic, accompaniment. When supporting her own vocals on piano during tracks like "Every December Sky," she achieves a special intimacy; the band's entry, though discrete, somewhat dilutes the effect. No such diminution mars her performance of the Celtic-flavored "Feathers Bones and Shells," largely a piano and vocal piece with touches of cello, or "Deeper Still," on which the absence of drums allows Chapman to ride a delicate rubato, with a subtle but electrifying acceleration when Vince Gill enters with harmony on the chorus. On up-tempo numbers she allows herself less elasticity in both phrasing and writing; "Shake My Soul," with beat pumping and Bonnie Raitt joining in on backup vocals, locks the lyric into a choppy pattern that emphasizes rhythm more than shaded meaning ("Gonna shake my soul/And release my hold/Givin' up control/And let the rest unfold"). At its best moments, Deeper Still displays a strong confessional perspective, plenty of sensitive arrangement, and the occasional surprise; there are moments in "All Comes Down to Love" that even recall the Beatles, from the pinched production in one short segment to a "yeah, yeah, yeah" riff on the fade. On every cut she maintains the high level of craftsmanship that has long made her a hometown heroine in Nashville; her match of lyric to rhythm in "World of Hurt" has an especially Music Row resonance. Nothing, however, seriously challenges any commercial conventions. Deeper Still is in fact more broad than deep, polished and pleasing but a step shy of profound. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
World of Hurt (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Bill Lloyd	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(3:36)
Angels by My Side (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Tommy Sims	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:31)
Every December Sky (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:03)
Shake My Soul (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Annie Roboff	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:28)
Wait for the Way (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Annie Roboff	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(3:55)
All Comes Down to Love (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Annie Roboff	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:08)
Deeper Still (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, David Wilcox	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:02)
Sleep (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Joe Henry	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:43)
Feathers, Bones and Shells	Beth Nielsen Chapman, Joe Henry	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(3:45)
All for the Love (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:39)
There's a Light (Lyrics)	Beth Nielsen Chapman	Beth Nielsen Chapman	(4:25)

Credits

Pamela Sixfin (Strings), Greg Eckelman (Art Direction), Robert Hadley (Mastering), Andy Bey (Vocals (Background)), Viktor Krauss (Bass), Vince Gill (Vocals (Background)), Annie Roboff (Vocals (Background)), Tommy Sims (Ebo), Paul Reisler (Dulcimer (Hammer)), Andy Jusus (Engineer), Vickie Fister (Production Assistant), Bill Miller (Native American Flute), Herb Jordan (Management), Annie Roboff (Piano), Alan Umstead (Strings), Doctor Sample (Drums), Tommy Simms (Producer), Carl Gorodetzky (Strings), Doug DeLong (Assistant), Gary Paczosa (Engineer), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Producer), Tommy Sims (Drum Programming), Danny Duncan (Engineer), Peggy Teague (Make-Up), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Hi String Guitar), Mike Casteel (Strings), Dave Pomeroy (Bass), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Guitar (Acoustic)), John Ragusa (Penny Whistle), Kenny Malone (Percussion), Michael "Mike Dee" Johnson (Photography), Kate Lindsay (Wardrobe Design), Annie Roboff (Producer), Kirby Shelstad (Engineer), Lee Larrison (Strings), Emmylou Harris (Vocals (Background)), Herb Jordan (Executive Producer), John Hiatt (Guitar), Danny Duncan (Drum Programming), Dave Matthews (Engineer), Jamie Muhoberac (Keyboards), John Hobbs (Synthesizer Pads), Mary Kathryn Vanosdale (Strings), Chris Bruce (Guitar (Bass)), Gary VanOsdale (Strings), Kimmie Rhodes (Vocals (Background)), Tommy Sims (Vocals (Background)), David Davidson (Strings), Connie Ellisor (String Arrangements), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Vocals), Robert Mason (Strings), Michael Noble (Guitar), Carmen Rizzo (Engineer), Dave Polmeroy (Bass), Andrew Scheps (Engineer), Bonnie Raitt (Vocals (Background)), Tommy Sims (Guitar), John Prine (Vocals (Background)), Chuck Ainlay (Mixing), Tommy Simms (Vocals (Background)), Earl Harvin (Percussion), Barry Walsh (Synthesizer), Scott Sanders (Guitar (Steel)), John Hiatt (Vocals (Background)), Kenny Malone (Drums), Earl Harvin (Drums), Tommy Sims (Bass), Mike Noble (Guitar), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Piano), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Keyboards), Anthony LaMarchina (Strings), Carmen Rizzo (Producer), John Hobbs (Keyboards), Tommy Sims (Producer), Gary "Bud" Smith (Piano), Sheila Prevost (Cover Design), Chris Bruce (Guitar (Electric)), Silvere Boureau (Cover Painting), Annie Roboff (Keyboards), Ronnie Brookshire (Engineer), John Ragusa (Conch Shell), John Ragusa (Flute (Alto)), Marc Chevalier (Engineer), Ed Simonton (Engineer), Kristin Wilkinson (Strings), Barry Walsh (Keyboards), Peggy Teague (Hair Stylist), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Guitar), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Vocals (Background)), Eric Darken (Percussion), Bill Lloyd (Bass), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Tibetan Bowls), Chris Bruce (Bass), Chris Bruce (Guitar), Bill Lloyd (Guitar), John Catchings (Cello), Tommy Simms (Drum Programming), David Angell (Strings), Dre Pallemaerts (Drums), Doug Sax (Mastering), John Hobbs (Arranger), Beth Nielsen Chapman (Engineer), Dan Leffler (Engineer), John Hobbs (Sounds)

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