The Burdens of Being Upright 1996 Album

Tracy Bonham

This album was released into the pop-culture mainstream during a time when Alanis Morrisette and other female alt-rockers ruled the airwaves. Specifically, because of the lead single, “Mother Mother” – an often-harrowing first-person account of explaining those initial years away from the nest, and Tracy seemed to be a lot more on edge than Alanis ever was in any of her songs, even at her angriest. However, by no means is Bonham’s debut in the “great album” category – not even close – it’s much more like a lost curio waiting to be discovered by the small number of people who can rightly connect to it. There are slow songs here and there, to give you brief respites in between the heavier tracks, but ultimately, big booming rockers like the aforementioned “Mother, Mother”, “The One”, “Sharks Can’t Sleep”, “Tell It to the Sky”, and “Navy Bean” really set the tone of the record.