Steven Curtis Chapman

By now, all of us are aware of the horrific tragedy befalling the Chapman family in May, 2008 with the death of their daughter, five-year-old Maria. In the wake of it all, we all were privy to the response of the family as they were interviewed in People and Good Morning America, among other media outlets. And while it’s certainly not the most important question at all, one that remains in our collective minds is how the artist will respond. Better yet, will he even respond at all?

We have our answer in Beauty Will Rise. Let me say this from the beginning: this is without a doubt the greatest album Steven Curtis Chapman has ever released. In a career long celebrated with record numbers of Dove Awards, multiple Grammy wins and over 10 million albums sold, that’s quite a statement. But that’s exactly how tall Beauty stands, even in a legacy like Chapman’s.

Better yet, Beauty Will Rise is the most important album in Chapman’s career. In an industry determined to wipe clean and sanitize anything remotely authentic or vulnerable, somehow this one slipped through. Perhaps Chapman’s earned enough credit to cash in some chips here. Perhaps the songs were simply that good. Either way, what the label has allowed here is songs that aren’t always “safe for the whole family” or “positive radio” tracks to make their way to the masses. Amazing.

What about the songs themselves, you ask? Stunning. The title track rides a dark, arrhythmic delivery that eventually builds to a fantastic orchestral finish. All the while, Chapman earnestly delivers lines like: “It was the day the world went wrong/I screamed ‘til my voice was gone/And watched through the tears as everything came crashing down.” It’s a real moment from a real artist delivering real songs. The results couldn’t be any more compelling lyrically or musically.

“See” continues the haunting trend with an opening, droning piano note that gives way to a morbidly beautiful progression before Chapman’s vocal breaks in. It’s a beautiful admission where Chapman sings, “Right now all I can taste are bitter tears/Right now all I can see are clouds of sorrow.” The song closes as it opens with a whispering line of Scripture, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Lead single “Heaven is the Face” seems the acoustic version of “See,” with a stormy, strum-heavy intro while Chapman delivers his typical verse-by-verse story progression he’s been using since First Hand. “Questions” sounds like a minimal acoustic outtake from the second half of The Great Adventure and grips the courage to ask Job-like questions like “How could you be so good and strong and make a world that can be so painful?”

If anything, Beauty Will Rise proves the maxim the greatest or most meaningful art produced usually emerges from the worst of circumstances. It’s a true gift from an artist who lost so much to give so much more away to the rest of us.

Tagged as: Beauty Will Rise, Steven Curtis Chapman

↓ 5 comments

#1 Andrew Greenhalgh on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:07 am

I’ll tell the truth; I wasn’t sure how I’d like this one. For some time, I’d become a very anti-Chapman guy just because of how much press he got. But with the recent tragedy and all, I guess I was really impressed with how he and his family handled it all, really setting themselves out as the real deal. And this record shows it all, the pain, the questioning, and the hope. Great review.

#2 tyler h on November 2nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

no.

a couple songs are listenable. thats about it.

#3 Shawn McLaughlin on November 2nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm

Perhaps I’m too much of a curmudgeon, but, despite a TON of credit for how open and raw Chapman is on Beauty Will Rise, I still get the impression that it was whitewashed quite a bit for easier consumption by the masses. What the record does well is to point out the fact that Chapman went through unbelievable pain, asked questions which Matt details well in the review, and comes out with a stronger, more vibrant faith. What we DON’T see is the process that brought him to that renewed faith. Tragedies like this one are always accompanied by a myriad of emotions….doubt, fear, anger (at God, self, family), blame, recrimination. Outside of the common question that Matt details above, there are very few really gritty moments of this kind to be found. It is hard to believe that Chapman never was angry…at himself, at God, at Will Franklin or that he had doubts about the providence of God. It is natural when going through these circumstances. But we really see none of that. Perhaps he felt these feeling were too personal to let out in public and I can respect that. But wouldn’t a listener who does not believe, or is on the fence, be even more taken with a story that shows exactly HOW low a guy can get and STILL manage to put his trust and faith in God? It just seemed a little antiseptic for me. However, I agree that this is an important release and BY FAR the best thing SCC has ever released.

#4 Chris Unthank on November 2nd, 2009 at 6:51 pm

This is a classic. Something I’ll be coming back to for years…

#5 Clay on November 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

I’m excited to give it a listen – the first time I’ve felt this way in a long time about SCC.

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