There’s more than music in Beautiful History, the latest release from Plumb.
In fact, that’s true of every recording made by this extraordinary singer/songwriter since she first set foot on a stage or laid her initial tracks in a studio. But on Beautiful History she takes it to a higher level.
As always, she reaches out to all who have found inspiration in her songs. Beyond that, these 20 tracks, packaged on two CDs, challenge listeners to move forward by accepting the changes that time can bring while holding close to the things that define who we are.
For Plumb, a.k.a. Tiffany Arbuckle Lee, Beautiful History marks a significant step, artistically and personally. In her early years in the public eye, after she had moved from Atlanta to Nashville and launched her career with a self-titled debut album in 1997, Plumb occupied a distinctive niche: a Christian artist whose passions communicated powerfully whether set to pulsing electronic beats, guitar-driven alternative rock or sweeping orchestral accompaniment. Her artistry was too compelling for any one genre to confine; her unforgettable voice, presence and message embraced all who heard her, whether in concert, in soundtracks for A View from the Top, Bruce Almighty and other high-profile films, on TV shows ranging from Dawson’s Creek to ER, or on top of the Billboard dance charts with “In My Arms” in 2007.
Whether drawn by her sound or her sometimes enigmatic image, those who have discovered Plumb tend to develop a deeper identity over time. She sang from the heart about subjects as sensitive as sexual abuse (“Damaged”) and self-injury (“Cut”) – subjects seldom visited beyond the pages of private journals, transformed through music into expressions of love and promises of hope. Those who searched for meaning bonded to Plumb’s message as fervently as those who had found it; the result was to transform her audience into a community, diverse as individuals yet bound by the knowledge that none of us is ever truly alone.
Plumb reciprocates the trust of her fans with Beautiful History. To put it into context, go back to her previous album, Blink, released shortly after the birth of her second son, Oliver Canon Lee, born just 19 months his brother Solomon Fury Lee. Intimate and blissful, Blink shared the full range of emotions that come with motherhood. Reviewers discerned from it that Plumb “is supremely happy and content in her circumstances” (Suite101.com) or welcomed it as a “modern spin on lullaby albums (though) generally not the sort of album that will connect with younger Plumb fans looking for edgy rock” (Christianity Today).
All true, Plumb agrees. “Blink departed from the regular expectation of what a Plumb record would sound like. I’ve had a lot of questions like ‘Are you going to do more of an easy-listening sound?’ The truth is that Blink reflected where I was at the time. I was pregnant with a tiny guy already at home; my head was not into making a rock record. Even now, I’m not able to tour as much as I used to. I’m a lot more sentimental and a little more nostalgic. So having children has affected my art – but it hasn’t taken away the rock artist in me. That’s who I am.”
Beautiful History honors that essence of Plumb. True to its title, the album looks back to landmark recordings from her catalog. Some of them, such as “God Shaped Hole,” were among her biggest singles. Others were album tracks that impacted her fans – or, more personally, Plumb herself – in some special way. “For instance, ‘Stranded’ has never been a single,” she points out. “We’ve never done a video or a remix of it. But it’s my most suggested song to date. And even though ‘Here Is Me’ never had as much commercial success as some of my other songs, but it’s been in films and movie trailers, it’s been on television, and fans always come back to this one and ask if I’m going to perform it.”
These songs are fresh as well as familiar, having been revisited by Plumb and Matt Bronleewe, her longtime producer, especially for Beautiful History. Some of them are remixes, not widely heard outside of the dance clubs for which they were tailored. And several are brand-new, including “Hang On,” which Plumb had co-written for a documentary film project without any intention of recording it herself. This song, along with the previously unreleased title track, confirms that the full picture of Plumb has become more complex – and therefore more accessible to all whose lives have also deepened with experience.
“It was intentional, but both of those new songs ended p being about hope,” Plumb says. “’Hang On’ is about … hanging on. You keep breathing in and out, never knowing if it’s going to stop in three days or 30 years. But when redemption comes, it’ll seem like you just blinked your eyes. And ‘Beautiful History’ is about all the messes we’ve made and the sovereignty of God, who picks you up, brushes you off and says, ‘Begin again.’”
Decisions … crossroads … consequences … These diversions, roadblocks and what seem like dead ends can intimidate those who are just starting their journey. Having moved from one phase of life to the next, Plumb testifies throughout Beautiful History that no matter how many shadows darken the highway there is light ahead and a home awaiting all who seek it. Not only that: You can get there without sacrificing the fires that fueled us in our early explorations.
“An interviewer asked me once, ‘How do you balance the facets of your life, being a wife and a mom and a writer and very active in your church and community?’” Plumb says. “I told her, ‘In order to be faithful to any of those roles, I have to be faithful to them all.’ When I had children, it was tempting to put music on the back burner or even take it off the stove completely, not because I wanted to but because the responsibilities of motherhood pull you – and rightfully so. But now I realize that my children’s mom is Plumb. She’s not just Tiffany, although that’s part of her. Lots of mothers put their children even ahead of their marriage and walk away from their lives. Their husbands pay a price for that. Their children pay a price for that. The people they could be influencing in the world pay a price for that. We have more to offer than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.
Beautiful History, then, is a pivotal album on Plumb’s ongoing adventure. The intensity of her first works, the blossoming insight and tenderness of Blink, find communion on this album, where wisdom speaks to the tune of shimmering, slashing guitar and the tempo of pounding rhythms. Equally important, the point is made that there’s much more to come, not just from this singular artist but in all that awaits each of us, three days or 30 years ahead and beyond as well.
“I’m not here to be 19 again,” she affirms. “I know there are people who follow that dark and redemptive side of me, or the mom side of me, and I don’t want to alienate any of them. But this is who I am. I’m back and I’m in full swing.”
Beautiful History is being written even now. In so many ways, the story is just beginning.
