The singer/songwriter. I can't think of anyone else who has the chance, and the ability, to touch our souls, to sing our lives, to put our feelings into words, when we just can't, but we recognize them instantly. One person relating the universal incident, the feeling that's been there since the beginning of time, that we could never quite give meaning - but the singer/songwriter can, and all of this to perfect musical accompaniment. Amazingly human, yet seemingly possessing the wisdom of the ages. That is the talent of the troubador. And if that troubador is Mary Chapin Carpenter, there is absolutely no one who does it better.
I can think of no other artist whose career has been so obviously on the rise, growing, maturing, and getting wondrously better with each release. 1992's Come On, Come On put Carpenter on the musical map with three big hits: "Passionate Kisses", "He Thinks He'll Keep Her", and "I Feel Lucky". With a winning folk-country sound, the disc went multi-platinum. 1994's platinum Stones in the Road was a beautiful showcase for Carpenter's story-telling, folkier side, revealing an impressive growth and maturation just one album down the road. 2001's time*sex*love chronicles her continuing maturation as a woman and an artist. time*sex*love (on SACD, simply stunning!), is another leap in her musical abilities, from folk-country singer/songwriter to a seasoned singer/songwriter of American music bypassing boundaries and genres. It's a beautiful collection of story-songs, and one of my favorites.
This year's Between Here and Gone takes Carpenter's abilities as singer/songwriter another quantum leap up the ladder. We now hear poetic lyrics worthy of a laureate, informed by a muse similar to that of Jacques Brel, Jimmy Webb, or Leonard Cohen. This disc contains some of the most ineffably beautiful music this side of heaven, coupled with vocals of thick, dark honey. This is an album of exquisite beauty, mood and texture - perfect American pop dressed in slight frills of folk and the finest whiff of country. We behold a magical journey of secrets, safeties, lies, loss, and freedom - of used-to-be's and never-were's. The time between here...and gone.
This one is on my short list for the Best of 2004. (2003 saw the release of The Essential Mary Chapin Carpenter, and, although I recommend each album mentioned separately, there is not a single misstep on this best-of compilation. Simply wonderful!)
Between Here and Gone is Carpenter's best album yet, and it's close to perfect. It commands attention and respect without demanding it. Once you've heard this disc, many a favorite female singer/songwriter will suddenly seem to belong on your B-list. If there has been a more beautiful album released this year, I have not heard it. "Luna's Gone" examines the sadness and mystery of disappearance without warning or explanation...the ultimate fooling of ourselves with the non-acceptance of someone precious now being gone, and we don't know where or why. There's the make-believe perfection of "My Heaven", the ideals in our mind's eye, where everything's good and everything's okay and those we lost are found again...an exquisitely beautiful view of "heaven", hauntingly familiar yet always just out of reach. Goosebumps from an homage to a perfect world. "Goodnight
America
" is the most poignant slice of everyman's life, hopes and dreams. A stranger, faceless, the living muse of everyone, yet no one. The title cut places the album's central theme - juxtaposition - in the obvious. Being and not being, earth and sky, loving and leaving, sticking around and travelling on, here and gone...and the time inbetween. "Beautiful Racket" concerns itself with what might have been...with chances missed. Juxtaposition again: rocket/whispers, bitter/sweet..."Girls Like Me" is so lonely you can feel it...encompassing all the sadness of lonesome and its hopes and dreams.
I predict that Mary Chapin Carpenter's Between Here and Gone will become one of those touchstone albums...one that gains in popularity over the years, until it is expected to be in one's collection...the likes of Tapestry and Sweet Baby James. This is, without a doubt, one of the most moving, meaningful albums you will ever experience. It is a beautiful thing, and almost perfection. A must have.
