Customer Reviews

Come on Come on

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mary Chapin-Carpenter built her career largely on public radio airplay for her folky acoustic guitar-based songcraft. This album exploded her into the country mainstream, thanks to the huge hits "Passionate Kisses", "I Feel Lucky" and lesser hits "I Take my Chances" and "He Thinks He'll Keep Her". But while country radio may have loved her for awhile, it quickly forgot about her and the reason why is between the hit tracks: Carpenter has more in common with classic country singers than with the current batch of forgettable pop-country heard on the radio these days.

Carpenter is all about songs: Writing the sentiments of an educated, mature woman who's not afraid to make political statements that buck Nashville's (i.e. she's a feminist and a bit to the left) conservatism. All but two of the songs here were written or co-written by her.

HIGHLIGHTS:
The hits deserved to be. Carpenter finds the catchy heart of Lucinda Williams' "Passionate Kisses" and makes it the mainstream smash it was always meant to be. "I Feel Lucky" and "I Take my Chances" both find Carpenter playing it sassy and devil-may-care. "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" reveals Carpenter's feminist streak, in the tale of a woman who leaves her uncaring husband after 15 years ("For 15 years she had a job and not one raise in pay/Now she's in the typing pool at minimum wage..") "The Bug" is the lost album track that should have been a hit. The blue-collar philosophy of life ("Sometimes you're the windshield/Sometimes you're the bug..") is terribly catchy and a nice retool of a Dire Straits album track. The album cuts are what make Carpenter stand a bit above the pack: "I Am a Town" is pure southern Americana ("I'm the last gas for an hour, if you're going 25, I am Texaco and tobacco, I am dust you leave behind"), the tender duet with Joe Diffie on "Not Too Much to Ask",and "Only a Dream"'s taste of the deep bonds of sisters and the hurt that comes when the older one leaves home ("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 h*ll of a suitcase you packed")

LOWS:
"Walking Through Fire" and "Rhythm of the Blues" are rather mediocre in the end. They just don't stick with you that well.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you're a Shania or Faith Hill fan, you'll probably HATE this. If you enjoy singer-songwriters (even if you THINK you hate country), give this a listen. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised. If you're a diehard folkie, you'll probably find this "overproduced" (which seems to be code for "any song with more than just a voice and an acoustic guitar").

3 1/2 stars

At the time, this was her most versatile disc to date. It really moves away from the country feel of her previous two releases, and, at its heart, is folk-pop. Her unabashed feminist side shows on I Feel Lucky and He Thinks He'll Keep Her, up-tempo rockers. Her mid-tempo songs, like Walking Through Fire, I Take My Chances, and Passionate Kisses, have the same unapologetic bluntness - she's her own woman, and proud of it. Her voice also shines on delicate ballads like Come On, Come On, I Am A Town, and Only A Dream. She has a superb talent for painting vivid pictures: I see the empty room in Only A Dream, and I see her walking on the tracks in I Take My Chances. The only song out of place here is Not Too Much To Ask, a banal country ballad, but other than that one clunker, this disc is a delight.

A friend of mine recently asked me to compile my list of the 10 greatest CDs of all time. I thought, "How in the world can I decide?" And then I thought, "simply list the 10 CDs that you play most frequently." MCC's "Come On Come On" quickly made the Top Ten. Sometimes one can't explain why. This is definitely a play-through-and-don't-skip-any-tracks CD. "Only a Dream" still haunts, even though I've heard it a million times. I like MCC because she isn't like any other.

The antithesis of Muzak, Come On, Come On is a rocking, touching, absorbing CD that massages your heart and engages your mind while it sends you for the air guitar, moves your feet, and compels you to attempt harmonies. This is the essence of a fully realized work, a stunning synthesis of pithy writing, memorable tunes, and enhancing arrangements. Four years after I bought it, I continue to play it once a week for grounding (and to work on my own harmonies) and I've given copies to dear friends because Carpenter's eye is so sharp and her words so observant. If you've read this far, do yourself and a friend a favor. Buy it.

This is the one Mary Chapin-Carpenter CD that everyone should have. There's not a weak song on it, nor any false sentiment; every word and chord rings true and beautiful. It appeals to everyone, not just women, and several of the songs are downright toughminded: "The Hard Way," "He Thinks He'll Keep Her," "Walking Through Fire," and "I Take My Chances." But Mary also sings funloving songs like "I Feel Lucky" and "The Bug," and tender ones like "Rhythm of the Blues" and the title track. Rounding out the album are the impossibly romantic "Not Too Much to Ask," Lucinda Williams' wonderful "Passionate Kisses," and the heartbreaking "Only a Dream." I can't say enough good things about this album. Just get it. You'll love it, too.

"Show a little inspiration/Show a little spark." With these words, Mary Chapin Carpenter starts the listener on a thrill ride that proves that she has both in abundance. The feel good beat of I Feel Lucky and Passionate Kisses intermingle with the soulful harmony of Rhythm Of The Blues and I Am A Town. The spunky He Thinks He'll Keep Her and I Take My Chances demonstrate the MCC take-no-prisoners attitude that fans have come to expect. She may have done it The Hard Way, but aren't we lucky she did it?

im 11 and i like this album better than the crud my friends listen to. BUY THIS ALBUM ONLY IF U HAVE LOTS OF TIME. I PROMISE U WILL NEED TIME BECAUSE U WILL LISTEN TO THIS CD A ZILLION TIMES BEFORE SOME ONE VIOLENLY RIPS YOUR EAR OFF THE SPEAKER. MARY......U ROCK THE HOUSE!!

I am going to start this with what I always say is such a cliche: this woman writes my life! Chapin and I are of similar ages, and I just connect to her music so much. I believe this is the place for the casual listener to start with Chapin-it's the album that is the easiest to listen to (State of the Heart comes close)and one of the best to appreciate her original style and her best cover (Passionate Kisses).

The opening songs on this collection (The hard Way and He Thinks he'll Keep Her) reflect her upbringing and class. (How many people remember the Geritol ad the latter song's title was based on? I thought so, all you people who understant Chapin)

I have read that many people don't care for Rhythm of the Blues on this CD. I feel that song so much, it really talks to me. That, and Only a Dream, and I am a Town. The thing that makes me smile wistfully in I am a Town is that, while she is talking about "a town in Carolina", I am from Michigan and many small towns in Central Michigan fit the lyrics of this song.

AS I said, THE CD for the person who wants to start listening to MCC, but once you have heard it, you will want the rest. I own all her CD's.

Ms. Chapin Carpenter is one of the best all round lyricists, composer, and singer out there.
Come On , Come On , is not Country as we used to know it , but rauther an all American blend of folk , of sass , of country , and the blues. Give her a listen ... and you will fall in love with that smoky alto.

MCC has put out some self-indulgent work lately, and Time/Sex/Love drove me back to this album, which reminded me how much I liked her work of this era. This album, and those that precede and follow it (Stars; Stones) are full of thoughtful small-bore reflections on life and love. And they're catchy, to boot.