Between Here & Gone

Just listening to this album (as I've done repeatedly for the past few days) reveals that Mary Chapin Carpenter has put miles on since the times when she was considered just another talented country singer. While the musical roots are still there, in the rhythms and instrumental choices, 'Between Here and There' is clearly something else entirely. Is it popular music? Is it folk music? I honestly don't know, but it is earnest, beautifully musical, and deeply touching.

The three years since her last album have been times of change, not just for Carpenter, but for all of us, and this album captures much of the poignancy of a traveler through life who understands that sometimes the changes aren't for the good, but that sometimes they are. Sometimes they are deeply affecting, an sometimes they are swirls on the surface of something much deeper. Here we will find the nostalgia of 'Elysium' and the hope of 'My Heaven.' The abiding concern of 'Goodby America' and the deep grief of...Read more

then this MCC CD, her first since 2001, and only her second collection since 1996, is not for you.

Old fans want MCC to give them more of "Down at the Twist and Shout"...country fans want her to give them country. People want MCC to declare her style. Well, she doesn't have just one style, and "Between Here and Gone" is evidence of that.

There will probably not be any big "hit" from "Between Here and Gone"....MCC should be able to get play time as Sheryl Crow does, between country and pop, but because she doesn't present as a rocker chick, or stay on the pages of People magazine, MCC will, thankfully, get to do just exactly what she wants with her music. And "Between Here and Gone" demonstrates that. It is a poetic collection, a demonstration of the wisdom that MCC has gathered by being a spectator of this world, and by writing songs about what she loves. It may not "hit" you, as a listener, right away. In fact, the...Read more

I've been a fan of Mary Chapin Carpenter for fourteen years now. I have all of her albums (rather, CD's...I'm dating myself). I know each line from every lyric she's ever written. I can tell you what instruments are played in each arrangement. Her lyrics and music have inspired me musically and personally. I could sing her songs word for word in my sleep! In other words, I know her stuff!

Between Here and Gone is one of her best (as if any of her albums are not worthy of being her best). I remember the first time I heard the album, Come On, Come On, or, Stones in the Road. You know, when you instantly realize that you are listening to a Classic. How the words and music just sink into your soul. Well, when I first listened to Between Here and Gone, it evoked the same feeling. What a masterpiece lyrically. Musically, the arrangements are a bit more "Country" than her recent work, with a mandolin and steel guitar here and there. But, these instruments are very...Read more