Chapman showcases her many moods

October 20, 2005|Globe Staff

Sheer artistry might be the best way to describe Tracy Chapman's stunning performance at the nearly sold-out Orpheum on Tuesday. She transfixed her fans with fiery political anthems, killed them softly with the most hushed love songs imaginable, and won them over with a varied repertoire that has only deepened since she was a student at Tufts in the late 1980s.

Chapman was magnificent from start to finish. She was shy and retiring in her stage banter (''As some of you know, I used to live here," she said sheepishly), but she was overwhelmingly powerful when she began singing. Fronting a trio that ably followed her every nuance, she captured the crowd instantly with two working-class anthems, ''Subcity" (about being left behind by the American Dream) and the urgent ''Why?"

Rarely has a show started with two more vividly caring tunes. And it only got better, as Chapman touched base with not only her earliest hits, ''Fast Car" and ''Talkin' Bout a Revolution," but also new tracks such as the reflective ''Change," the hopeful ''Don't Dwell," and the angry ''America," where she bashed selfishness. The new songs carried much more energy than their recorded versions. She also did a stirring duet with opening act Ben Taylor on Bob Dylan's ''Knockin' on Heaven's Door."

Along the way, Chapman soothed on acoustic guitar, rocked on electric, and wailed on drums. She fused coffeehouse folk with Billie Holiday-like soul and soaring gospel. And she finally thrilled the crowd by pulling out a Les Paul guitar to perform ''Give Me One Reason" (her love song of love songs) with a double-time coda that was a sudden but welcome dose of punk-folk. It was a fitting climax from a woman who has always done things her own way.