Sometimes the hardest albums to review are the one you know the best. <\/p>\n
Mary Chapin Carpenter\u2019s 1992 breakthrough album Come On Come On<\/i> has been on my list of all-time favorites for over 15 years now, but the thought of explaining how and why that is still seems daunting. With three Top Ten country singles and a passel of industry awards, you might think the appeal would be obvious, but it isn\u2019t that simple, and therein lies the story.<\/p>\n
In 1992 it was anything but obvious that Mary Chapin Carpenter was on the brink of becoming one of modern country music\u2019s shining stars. Yes, her gentle, largely introspective music had won her a regional following around her hometown of That said, Carpenter had scored a couple of minor hits off her 1989 sophomore album State Of The Heart<\/i> (\u201cQuittin\u2019 Time\u201d and \u201cNever Had It So Good\u201d) and followed it with a number two off her 1990 disc Shooting Straight In The Dark<\/i>, the Cajun-tinged \u201cDown At The Twist And Shout.\u201d <\/p>\n The magic of this album lies in three elements.<\/p>\n First is the pitch-perfect brew of styles, mixing jangly, upbeat country-rock tunes like the perceptive \u201cThe Hard Way\u201d and the sassy \u201cI Feel Lucky\u201d with deeply introspective folk numbers like \u201cRhythm Of The Blues\u201d and the moving \u201cOnly A Dream.\u201d The one rather traditionalist tune, \u201cNot To Much To Ask,\u201d a sentimental duet with Joe Diffie, sets up beautifully the ringing anthem which follows, \u201cPassionate Kisses.\u201d<\/p>\n Second is the sheer quality of the songs. The driving \u201cHe Thinks He\u2019ll Keep Her\u201d \u2013 a number one hit \u2013 is a fierce and memorable declaration of independence from a taken-for-granted spouse. \u201cOnly A Dream\u201d renders the turbulence and uncertainty of growing up in a troubled household in a gorgeous, plaintive ballad. And the covers Carpenter chooses are nothing short of spectacular, as she turns Mark Knopfler\u2019s typically acerbic \u201cThe Bug\u201d into a fount of hard-earned wisdom and invests Lucinda Williams\u2019 \u201cPassionate Kisses\u201d with all the throaty determination it demands.<\/p>\n Third is the crisp and clean yet airy and organic production by Carpenter\u2019s longtime guitarist and collaborator John Jennings and Carpenter herself. It\u2019s an approach that provides a natural showcase for the warmth of Carpenter\u2019s voice and the humanity of these songs, burnishing them gently until they positively glow. The choice to present the closing title tune as a spare lament to lost innocence and regret is nothing short of brilliant, and the background chorus of Carpenter, Put it all together and give it a run order that\u2019s as thoughtfully paced as a three-act play and you\u2019ve got an album that you can (and I did) stick in the player and listen to all the way through over and over and over. <\/p>\n And I wasn\u2019t alone; Come On Come On<\/i> won a Grammy and cemented Carpenter\u2019s place as one of the leading voices of modern country music, bringing contemporary themes and values and a deft mix of country, folk, rock and pop stylings into what had been an inwardly-focused and deeply traditionalist genre. It\u2019s a landmark album from one of the most talented singer-songwriters of her generation, and one that belongs in the collection of any fan of modern country, folk or singer-songwriter music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5880],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-41058","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-mary-chapin-carpenter","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41058"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}