Come On Come On proved that even with two previous hit albums under her belt,
Mary Chapin Carpenter was still as hot as could be. This album serves as one of the signposts that
contemporary country would not only aspire to, but actually become in the 21st century. One need only to stack this slab up against 2006 recordings by
Little Big Town and
Sugarland to see the roots of
Carpenter's blend of sophisticated
pop,
folk, and
soft rock with
country. This disc climbed all the way to number six on the
country charts, yielding an astonishing seven hit singles, fully revealing
Carpenter's meld of aesthetics, skill, and marketing savvy, and she established herself not only as one of her chosen genre's top artists, but crossed over into the then-burgeoning
Americana and AAA radio formats as well. With friends such as
Rosanne Cash,
Joe Diffie,
Shawn Colvin, and
the Indigo Girls lending a hand, there's a full range of
country,
folk, and
pop-styled songs strewn across the album, helping it and
Carpenter herself gain enormous recognition from other audiences outside of
country music.
"He Thinks He'll Keep Her," a title keeping with
country music's tradition of double entendres, became
Carpenter's first number one hit, while the confident
"I Feel Lucky" peaked at number four and netted her another Grammy.
Lucinda Williams'
"Passionate Kisses," with its beautiful guitar arrangements, also made it to number four, and
Carpenter's vocal enthusiasm makes
Dire Straits'
"The Bug" one of the album's most spirited efforts. These songs, along with the title track's compelling
folk essence, gave
Come on Come On a well-rounded sound and exposed her talent for reaching slightly beyond the genre's long-established niches. Not only is
Carpenter's music extendable, but her writing rescues
country music from its familiar themes of "love 'em and leave 'em" conventionality while still managing to portray maturely the perils of romance and heartbreak from a female perspective.
Carpenter repeated much of
Come On Come On's full-ranged charm for 1994's
Stones in the Road release, which garnered her yet a third Grammy in as many albums. ~ Mike DeGagne & Thom Jurek
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