Mary Chapin Carpenter:Party Doll And Other Favorites

Columbia Records

Playing Time: 72:54

D. Malcolm Fairbrother

When the winds of change blow, cross-pollination lies in the exclusive domain of no one musical genre in particular; the boundaries between a southwester and a northeaster become increasingly blurred.

Country musicians borrowed more than money from their citified kinfolk long before Shania Twain bare-bellied up to the bar of adult contemporary country music and danced away with a fistful of dollars and trophied recognition. The great ones, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and their ilk, knew the value of a good tune emotionally connected to the wellspring of the human condition, no matter its source or its inspiration, and despite its regional flavour.

Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger and The Eagles' Desperado owe as much to the loner nocturnally prowling the streets of any city as they do to the outlaw, modern or archaic, of the old west. The listener is unquestionably the beneficiary, as the boundaries fall and territories are made more fertile by the swapping of styles between shit-kickers and city slickers.

Mary Chapin Carpenter's latest release, Party Doll And Other Favorites, is as warm and inviting as any country kitchen, and produces just about as many tasty delights. Ms. Carpenter has done her fair share of shopping in the marketplace of rock and pop for themes and styles to entertain her ever widening circle of fans; however, she has not abandoned completely the fixin's found in a good ol' country store. Moreover, nobody stomps all over Ms. Chapin Carpenter's heart to leave her crying in her beer, her dog doesn't die, and her truck may or may not be running just fine - she doesn't really say. What she does say is that the modern woman can dish it out as well as she can take it, can kick up her heels and party as well as she can inspect the more subtle nuances of her relationships, and she doesn't need any man around if he can't accept her gentle complexities and her strength.

Astuteness abounds as Ms. Chapin Carpenter uses Party Doll… to summarize her increasingly successful career, but transcends the ploy of merely releasing a repackaging of her greatest hits by replacing studio productions with live performances. These, without a single exception, are highlights of the collection. Indeed, the CD opens with just such a number, Can't Take Love For Granted, this version being from a "Late Night With David Letterman" London broadcast. The song, an edgy rocker delivered with raw energy, is served well by the fusion of Carpenter's own capable back-up band with Letterman's in-house gang, the masterful CBS Orchestra. Together they produce a powerful country rocker that relentlessly and compellingly drives Carpenter's angry snarl of a vocal. A wildly enthusiastic reaction from the English audience gives evidence that good music is universally appreciated. Softly on the heels of this energetic outburst comes Wherever You Are, one of the three new tunes included in the package. This number effectively changes the pace with a standard, yet sophisticated, melodic love ballad that is delivered with an emotional power that never strays into the clichéd expressions so often found in countrified songs of this format.

Versatility is found in abundance. A live Cajun Super Bowl performance of Down At The Twist And Shou,t with Beausoleil along for the ride in full throttle, surges from the speakers like a tasty gumbo; accordions, fiddles, and charming rhythms all swirl around Carpenter as she creates an aural dance party. The artist moves effortlessly from mode to mode, balancing her selections almost equally with previously released favourites, seminal live cuts, and new or specially released compositions. In the first category, there are several standout presentations. Passionate Kisses begins with a bittersweet piano intro that leaps into a powerful declaration of a woman¹s hard-earned right to find the love she urgently wants. Dreamland is a delicate lullaby, engaging in its simplicity. Carpenter combines her wry wit and keenly intelligent numbers such as Shut Up And Kiss Me and I Feel Lucky, both adeptly delivered with maximum impact, neither one being out of place if it were to show up in Bonnie Raitt's repertoire.

Of the new material and special cover songs, two are astonishing in both their emotional impact and their impeccable execution. Almost Home is anthem-like in its delivery, without ever approaching tedium; the singer reaffirms her inner strength, unrelentingly fearless in the face of life's ever changing circumstances; it is a piece of work as empowering as it is powerful. Equally haunting is her evocative interpretation of 10 000 Miles, a song she recorded for the film, "I'll Fly Away". The country flavour is Scottish with an orchestral backdrop that lifts the stirring vocal onto a wave of heart-rending melancholy. It is just one of many moments, revealed by repeated listening, wherein Chapin Carpenter synthesizes artistic vision and skilled musicianship to realize her masterful ambitions, and to produce songs that are both delightful and thought-provoking.

Although not every inclusion on Party Doll… is as fully realized as the aforementioned tracks, there is not a dishonest moment to be found on the CD, and Mary Chapin Carpenter can never be accused of settling for the formulaic or the banal. She has proved herself no mere urban cowgirl cashing in on popular trends; she has chosen instead to set her own pace and travel her own roads. This reviewer savors that pace and follows her road willingly.