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Mary
Chapin Carpenter - The Calling (Zoë/Rounder)
Released: March 6, 2007
For my money, Ms. Carpenter is the smartest songwriter of the past twenty
years...among the few who can blend the very best art with the ability to
make hit music.
Perhaps too smart. Perhaps too artful. Perhaps too sensitive. That's what
I was thinking. The last album on Columbia, "Between Here And Gone" (review)
was a work of art - right down to the cover. But it was too...restrained,
too quiet, too sad. I asked the question then, "...are you okay?"
She's just fine.
Surrounded by friends (thank you, John Jennings), a producer who seems to
be hitting his stride (Matt Rollings), a new record label (Zoë), lots of
stuff with strings and plugs and speakers, and a pounding beat when it
fits - this is the one all the others have been building to. This is
perhaps the best album yet.
The title track - "The Calling" - showcases the best of Ms. Carpenter's
craftsmanship. For my money, the best of the disc is "We're All Right," an
anthem to holding on by a thread - but never ever giving up - a common
theme in Ms. Carpenter's stuff. "Houston" is a heartbreaking story of
Katrina, and "On With The Song" is a tip of the hat to the Dixie Chicks
("This is for the ones who stand their ground | When the lines in the sand
get deeper"), and a shot across the bow of Clear Channel, the big radio
juggernaut that (many feel) made sure the Chicks got theirs.
Ms. Carpenter's music is always very personal. I've never thought it was
very country, but when the seventies folk pigeon-hole collapsed, "country"
fit this kind of music about as well as anything.
This one is a nice blend of quiet and rowdy - yes, even electric things
can be quiet - "Here I Am" is a fine example of electric restraint. And
those personal anthems that make me go looking for the big speakers in the
big room, and lots of volume are simply the payoff for me.
"Country radio" probably doesn't much care about this kind of music any
longer. I don't care. I gave up on "country radio" after the Chicks got
screwed. But I never gave up on good music.
It's nice to know - neither did Ms. Carpenter and her pals.
Thirteen bucks - less if you iTune it, but I wish I'd gotten a copy of the
lyrics, so go buy the disc.
I'll be doing that too, I think.
Highest recommendation.
Four microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(03/09/07) |
