Here’s a fun fact. Last Thursday (Feb. 21) was
this next artist’s birthday! Happy birthday, Mary Chapin Carpenter!
Disc 1233 is… Come On Come On
Artist:
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Year of Release: 1992
What’s up with the
Cover?
The traditional Giant Head cover. Mary looks a little tight-lipped in this
picture, not in a “I’m keeping secrets”
kind of way but more of a “I’m not
entirely comfortable with what is going on over there in stage left” kind
of way.
How I Came To Know
It: I
was trying to find some common ground with a woman, because I was either in
love or lust with her. At the time I thought it was the former but looking back
it seems the latter is more likely.
Anyway, she liked Mary Chapin Carpenter, so I bought this album. You can
read a full accounting of the whole sordid experience in my review of “State of
the Heart” back at Disc 946. Spoiler alert: I did not get the girl.
How It Stacks Up: I have eight Mary Chapin Carpenter albums.
“Come On Come On” is pretty great, and I expected it to land in second place
overall, but after a song by song comparison with “State of the Heart” I must
drop it down to a respectful third. It was close though.
Ratings: 4 stars
“Come On Come On” completes the journey Carpenter began on “Shooting
Straight in the Dark” (reviewed at Disc 378) from a traditional
folk-country sound to a more contemporary folk-pop sound.
That previous foray felt awkwardly experimental at times, but on “Come On
Come On” Carpenter shows she has now mastered the new sound. Country purists
that were with her from the beginning may well have turned up their noses, but
for the most part the album was widely embraced and become her biggest selling
record of all time.
Much as I like to snob it up when it comes to music, I’m with the masses
on this one. My two favourite records from Carpenter may have been her first,
but “Come On Come On” is brilliant, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The opening track “The Hard Way”
is a great example, with a production that feels like an ocean swell, full of a
diffuse and powerful movement, but no sharp edges. Carpenter’s rich low Mezzo-Soprano
vocals have always had a smoothness to them it fit well with her new vocal. “The Hard Way” even has a rock guitar
solo in the bridge, and the trill of pop piano but the bones of the song – a great
melody and Carpenter’s rich confident vocals – are as strong and compelling as
ever.
“The Hard Way” is a song that celebrates
life’s difficulty and while the theme of “you wouldn’t appreciate it if it were
easy” is well-worn, it isn’t done much better than here.
The record is replete with positive energy, including two songs (“I Feel Lucky”, “I Take My Chances”) about embracing your own good fortune or – in the
absence of certainty – rolling the dice and confidently hoping for the best. 1992
wasn’t an easy year for me, and I found the record’s optimism reassuring and inspirational.
Even on break-up songs like “He’ll
Think He’ll Keep Her” are celebratory. The man might be in shock watching his
wife walk out the door but for her this
is a fresh start on a life deferred for too long. On “Only a Dream” an older brother leaves an abusive home, and while
the song is about loss for the sister, for the brother it is about finding your
own road and taking it.
Carpenter is a celebrated songwriter, and these songs are some of her
best. Musically, she is equally adept at blues, country or swing depending on
what the song calls for. Lyrically, she paints pictures with words that are sharp
and specific, but speak to a river of emotion and experience that are universally
relatable. “Only a Dream” ends with:
“The day you left home you got an
early start
I watched your car back out in
the dark
I opened the door to your room
down the hall
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 hell of a
suitcase you packed.”
Writing 101: The specific is terrific.
Williams also does a couple of covers: Lucinda Williams’ “Passionate Kisses” and Dire Straits’ “The Bug.” At the time I had no idea
either was a cover, and wouldn’t properly discover Lucinda Williams for another
decade, but it shows that Carpenter has a great ear for a good song, whether it’s
hers or someone else’s. While I prefer
the original in both cases, it is a testament to Carpenter’s talent that it
wasn’t an easy choice.
The album ends with the title track, an understated, haunting song about
looking back on life from middle-age, and acceptance about all the choices that
got you to…here. The chorus is a mix of sweetness and whispered comfort. Many’s
the time I put this on and lay down in the dark to take comfort in a lullaby
founded in the reassurance of experience and acceptance.
25 years and hundreds of listens later this album still works its soothing
magic on me, giving me peace with the past and optimism for whatever comes
next.
Best tracks: The Hard Way, Only a Dream, I Am a Town, Walking
Through Fire, Come On Come On
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