“Back To Love” – Beth Nielsen Chapman CD Release – January 25 2010

The amazing singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is set to dazzle her many fans with her new album Back To Love which will be released on January 25, 2010. The album will be released in the United Kingdom first (as has been the custom with Chapman’s past albums) with US and international release dates to follow soon.

This will be Chapman’s first mainstream pop album in six years. Her previous album Prism: The Human Family Songbook and the accompanying DVD If Love Could Say God’s Name, both released in 2007, were beautifully spiritual and uplifting, but are not really considered a mainstream release. Back To Love features eleven new songs, some of which Chapman co-wrote with luminaries such as Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers), Darrell Scott, Danny Flowers (Tulsa Time), Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and her close friend and hit songwriting partner Annie Roboff, who together with Chapman, co-wrote the popular hit This Kiss which was a big hit for singer Faith Hill, and was also featured on the soundtrack for the film Practical Magic.

As a prelude to the new release, Chapman released an EP featuring the single Shadows in late 2009, and has unveiled another song download which fans can purchase as a new teaser. Even As It All Goes By will be an iTunes UK exclusive until January 10, 2010.

Also, Chapman was a recent guest on inspirational spiritualist Deepak Chopra’s radio show where songs from her new album have had the honour of being critically praised by Chopra himself, and one song, How We Love is displayed prominently on his website.

Chopra has been a lifelong friend of Chapman’s, ever since her battle with breast cancer in the 1990’s, and although Chapman had investigated all forms of traditional and alternative therapies, and had even considered looking internationally for medical aid, the advice given to her by Chopra helped her to realise a fundamentally important message. The following quote comes from Chapman quoting Chopra’s advice.

‘You were born in the West. You are of the West. So it’s wonderful if you go visit India and take some herbs home and all that stuff, but your core soul is resonating with this place. So go to the best of the best of what that is, and then, add on to that what you can to improve it, using complementary and alternative medicine.”

Chapman was given sound advice from fellow cancer survivor Olivia Newton-John who put her in contact with her oncologist, who gave Chapman the contact details of oncologists in the Nashville area where Chapman lives. Chapman spoke to Dr. David Johnson, a past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology who now resides as the deputy director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Dr. Johnson states that Chapman’s search for options is part of a rapidly growing trend. He says that probably 85% of his patients seek out information about alternative therapies.

According to Dr. Johnson, the danger in this approach is that “alternative therapies have the potential to cause problems if they’re not discussed with a patient’s oncologist and coordinated with treatment. Many patients are mistrustful of Western medicine, even though science has made enormous strides over the last few decades. The paradox is, the more we know, the less trustful we are of modern medicine. That doubt has in turn fueled a tremendous amount of hype about the results that patients can expect from alternative medicine.”

Thankfully, Chapman’s cancer went into remission due to a combination of radiation treatments and chemotherapy, and a healthy dose of her own spirituality, faith and a strong will. In many ways the new album’s title Back To Love can be seen as both Chapman’s expression of gratitude and her way of giving love back to the good friends who have helped her through her ordeals. Also, another underlying message is revealed in the knowledge that despite our trials and tribulations in life, when searching for solace and healing, we, as human beings, are always striving to simply get back to love.