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Tracks Hard Way He Thinks He'll Keep Her Rhythm of the Blues I Feel Lucky Bug Not Too Much to Ask Passionate Kisses Only a Dream I Am a Town Walking Through Fire I Take My Chances Come on Come On
Skeptics might say that Carpenter's smash version of Lucinda Williams's "Passionate Kisses" pales beside the tougher original, or that Mary Chapin is but a folkie in poor-fitting country clothes. They're not exactly wrong, but her million-selling third album finds its charm in a spare Americana sound and smart, imaginative material. Carpenter bridges country and folk audiences, much as Emmylou Harris has done, and as few others have managed. And she's a better singer than generally recognized. Originals such as "I Am a Town" and the title cut are genuinely evocative, and "Walking Through Fire" and "I Take My Chances" have an emotional edge that is as raw as it has been rare on country radio in the '90s.--Roy Francis Kasten
Carpenter's a square peg in the round hole of Nashville Mary Chapin-Carpenter built her career largely on public radio airplay for her folky acoustic guitar-based songcraft. This album exploded her into the country mainstream, thanks to the huge hits "Passionate Kisses", "I Feel Lucky" and lesser hits "I Take my Chances" and "He Thinks He'll Keep Her". But while country radio may have loved her for awhile, it quickly forgot about her and the reason why is between the hit tracks: Carpenter has more in common with classic country singers than with the current batch of forgettable pop-country heard on the radio these days.
Carpenter is all about songs: Writing the sentiments of an educated, mature woman who's not afraid to make political statements that buck Nashville's (i.e. she's a feminist and a bit to the left) conservatism. All but two of the songs here were written or co-written by her.
HIGHLIGHTS: The hits deserved to be. Carpenter finds the catchy heart of Lucinda Williams' "Passionate Kisses" and makes it the mainstream smash it was always meant to be. "I Feel Lucky" and "I Take my Chances" both find Carpenter playing it sassy and devil-may-care. "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" reveals Carpenter's feminist streak, in the tale of a woman who leaves her uncaring husband after 15 years ("For 15 years she had a job and not one raise in pay/Now she's in the typing pool at minimum wage..") "The Bug" is the lost album track that should have been a hit. The blue-collar philosophy of life ("Sometimes you're the windshield/Sometimes you're the bug..") is terribly catchy and a nice retool of a Dire Straits album track. The album cuts are what make Carpenter stand a bit above the pack: "I Am a Town" is pure southern Americana ("I'm the last gas for an hour, if you're going 25, I am Texaco and tobacco, I am dust you leave behind"), the tender duet with Joe Diffie on "Not Too Much to Ask",and "Only a Dream"'s taste of the deep bonds of sisters and the hurt that comes when the older one leaves home ("I turned on the light and all that I saw/Was a bed and a desk and a couple of tacks/No sign of someone who expects to be back/It must've been one h*ll of a suitcase you packed")
LOWS: "Walking Through Fire" and "Rhythm of the Blues" are rather mediocre in the end. They just don't stick with you that well.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're a Shania or Faith Hill fan, you'll probably HATE this. If you enjoy singer-songwriters (even if you THINK you hate country), give this a listen. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised. If you're a diehard folkie, you'll probably find this "overproduced" (which seems to be code for "any song with more than just a voice and an acoustic guitar").
3 1/2 stars
A classic album Mary's music has always been hard to classify as, over her career, it has included elements of folk, pop, rock and country music. This album, recorded in 1992, appeared at a time when country was the dominant influence, but this is a long way from being a stereotypical country album. As such, it appeals to many fans who wouldn't normally listen to country music. With its strong-woman theme (especially on tracks such as He thinks he'll keep her), the album particularly appeals to women. Even as a man, I think that song is one of the highlights of the album - it reminds men not to take anything for granted where women are concerned (not that men should need reminding).
Perhaps the most famous song here is I feel like, a fun song in which Mary dreams about Dwight Yoakam and Lyle Lovett (two contemporary singers) fighting over her. It provides a lovely contrast from the normally serious songs that Mary is so good at. Another highlight is Passionate kisses, a song written and first recorded by Lucinda Williams. Mary's cover of the song was a huge country hit and helped to raise Lucinda's profile - remember that this was six years before Car wheels on a gravel road.
From the opening track (The hard way) to the closing title track, this album is packed full of outstanding songs including The bug (written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits), Not too much to ask (a tender ballad - this is a superb duet with Joe Diffie, an almost forgotten country singer) and Only a dream (one of many excellent songs that Mary wrote for the album.
This album remains the best of Mary's career. Look up the track listing for the compilation, Essential, for which half the tracks are lifted from this album. That is a great compliment to the quality of this album but it makes it hard for anybody to buy it if they've already bought Essential. That's a shame because every track here is brilliant.
Forget the Essential compilation - this is the place to begin a collection of Mary's music. If you also want a compilation, choose one that doesn't draw so heavily on this album, such as Party doll and other favorites.Lots of Great Songs It's difficult for me to classify Mary Chapin Carpenter's (MCC) work. It seems to include a bit of country, a bit of folk, a bit of rock, etc. But she does it flawlessly. After all such designations are really arbitrary -- just models or conventions. The reality is in the music. The beauty is in the ear of the beholder. Many albums contain only one or two great songs (so CDs work better for me than cassettes), even hers. But not this one. This album is filled with fine "cuts." I bought it just for "Passionate Kisses," but "I Feel Lucky," "The Bug," "Walking Through Fire," and the wonderful "I Take My Chances" are IMHO great as well. Many of the other songs are enjoyable too. Strangely, the title song is not as good as most of the others IMHO. In any case, this album is one of my very favorites. Enjoy!
