“ When he’s not kissin’ the ring and levelin’ threats/ He’s proud to be your favorite hypocrite,” she sings. The song opens with a funky bass-drum-keyboards groove, leading in to Carpenter’s smooth and satiric vocal. It has the ring of present-day timeliness, although, apparently, Carpenter wrote this and the album’s additional tunes well before the dire effects of the pandemic.Ĭarpenter also turns wryly political with “American Stooge,” reportedly pointed at South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham but could easily apply to most sitting politicians of the current era. In a hopeful vein, Carpenter assures that “It’s OK to Be Sad,” a song that could encapsulate our psychological state during the COVID lockdowns. “Secret Keepers” shines with an upbeat flair, reminding us to, “ Spare a little kindness when you meet someone/ You never really know what they’re carrying around.” That’s an especially worthy thought in today’s divisive climate. It’s not all navel-gazing and deep, dark discussion, though. Mary Chapin Carpenter Cover art courtesy of Thirty Tigers Suffice to say that no one’s writing them like this. ![]() In the timely “Asking for a Friend,” Carpenter sums up the eternal human dilemma with some thoughtful questions like, When there’s nothing left to say, how do you say it?/ When there’s nowhere else to go, have you reached the end? Brevity and soul – pure perfection. It’s a fine rumination about having experience but still willing to learn at the same time. Consider this line from “Farther Along and Further In,” the opening cut: There’s a crack in the armor, an opening/ My heart seeing out and my eyes see in/ Where they’ve never seen before. She gets her message across with lyrical passages that could easily pass for straight poetry, if there were no melody attached. The Dirt and the Stars finds Carpenter contemplating issues such as loneliness and dissolved relationships, even the distorted hypocrisy of politics, in a philosophical manner. It would hardly be a stretch to declare that Carpenter is producing the finest music of her 30-plus-year career. We’ve come to expect those elements from the Grammy and CMA award-winning artist, but this time she’s actually outdone herself. ![]() That reliable friend returns with a new album The Dirt and the Stars, replete with Carpenter’s trademarks of profound and insightful lyrics, well-aimed barbs, and sharp, expressive vocals. ![]() Mary Chapin Carpenter is the friend and confidante we’d all cherish to have in our lives – intelligent, witty, with an added capacity for knowing just which words to say.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |