Comments on: Mary Chapin Carpenter, Stones in the Road

By: Patrick

Patrick — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:49:56 +0000

I listened to it the other day. it was a pretty good album, but it may grow on me

By: charlie

charlie — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:25:09 +0000

My personal opinion is that if someone whose opinion I trust in general feels strongly enough about something subjective, like music, I owe it at least a few listens. I came to this album through osmosis from Kevin, but it has now become a talking point of mine for country music. In discovering Chapin as an artist, I am not sure how someone could do better capturing themselves on vinly/cd/digital medium. i will certainly defer to matters of personal taste, but on a musical level (personal connections aside) this album is a master class.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:10:36 +0000

I'm still partial to Come On, Come On, but this is certainly her other essential album, as this excellent review makes clear. This is the album that set the template for the remainder of Carpenter's career-- she's been recording variations of it ever since. And, while she's hit some occasional high points (such as the under-rated time*sex*love*) amid some more middling efforts, I don't think she's ever come close to replicating the start-to-finish quality of Stones in the Road. "House of Cards" is one of my favorite singles of hers, but this is one of the rare country albums that plays well as a complete collection.

By: Kevin J. Coyne

Kevin J. Coyne — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 03:12:22 +0000

Chad,

You’ve got good taste! What are some of your other favorite albums?

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:35:50 +0000

Paul, it’s her voice that actually draws me in. I love her insights and wit too.

By: Chad

Chad — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:30:32 +0000

I also love the way the opening notes in “Why Walk When you Can Fly” come back at the end of the CD.

Its honestly one of the first CDs that I came to love for the lyrics that aren’t “obvious,” which is why I think the CD means different things to you when you listen to different parts of your life.

Another favorite CD by one of my favorite artists….thanks for reviewing.

By: Paul W Dennis

Paul W Dennis — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:00:21 +0000

Another four star effort – I liked this album more when it first came out than I do now. I am not sure if it’s her voice that gets on my nerves or what, but I find that I like MCC best in very small doses

By: J.R. Journey

J.R. Journey — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:57:35 +0000

This is definitely a 5 star album from start to finish. I love ‘Keeper For Every Flame’ a whole helluva lot, and really every song on this one …

Thanks for giving me some extra reading on this and another of my favorite albums, ‘For My Broken Heart’ from Reba.

By: Blake Boldt

Blake Boldt — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:49:23 +0000

Agreed. I have amended, due to my better understanding of the rating system, When Fallen Angels Fly to five stars, but The Trouble with the Truth will remain 4.5. I would give this album 4 stars. Although I don't believe it to be an essential cornerstone of the genre, I feel that it's musical art of the highest power for all the points that Kevin has mentioned. Chapin deserves quite a lot of credit for her crisp, wickedly smart songwriting, and I'm glad she was able to enjoy the mainstream success that came her way in the early '90s.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:40:30 +0000

That’s what I was about to say. We, as reviewers, are individuals. So, our ratings of singles and albums are bound to differ.