1. The Calling
2. We're All Right
3. Twilight
4. It Must Have Happened
5. On and on It Goes
6. Your Life Story
7. Houston
8. Leaving Song
9. On with the Song
10. Closer and Closer Apart
11. Here I Am
12. Why Shouldn't We
13. Bright Morning Star
Amazon.com
In recent years, Mary Chapin Carpenter--once among the most promising stars of the folkie infiltration of Nashville ("Down at the Twist and Shout," "I Feel Lucky")--abandoned all desire to dot the country music charts. Free of that ill-fitting yoke she returned to being what she really was all along: A literate acoustic singer-songwriter. In 2004, she released a tour de force, Between Here and Gone, which combined affecting social commentary on the events of 9/11 with personal meditations on her changed life as a married woman living in rural Virginia. The Calling picks up where that album left off, using the same co-producer, pianist Matt Rollings, and core musicians, including John Jennings, who helped Carpenter shape her sonic landscape some 20 years ago. If the new album goes farther in advocating a political conscience--"On with the Song" takes jabs at the jingoistic rubes who dissed the Dixie Chicks, while "Why Shouldn't We" insists we'll have worthy heroes in office again one day--it largely invokes the same quiet, warm, and conversational tone as its predecessor. On the whisper-soft "Twilight," which frames a perfect, peaceful evening with a nearly spiritual grace, a listener might easily imagine himself chatting with the artist about long-held secrets and shared experiences, the Blue Ridge Mountains looming in the background. That is part of Carpenter's gift--connecting with her audience's shadow self, using her deeply nuanced alto to fill even the simplest words with profound knowing. As a pure craftsman, however, she ranks with the giants of past generations in capturing the small, bruised hearts seemingly lost in the chaos of a catastrophic event. "Houston," one such song here, recalls Woody Guthrie's great "Deportee" in its power and the pathos of the Hurricane Katrina victims who were forced to evacuate their homes, leaving everything behind but fear and hope. "Mama's got her baby/Sleeping in a grocery cart," it begins, at once setting up a picture of wrenching desperation. Carpenter, no stranger to blue moods herself, knows how tough it is to emerge from a dark period of pained restlessness to find one's very self again. The album's soothing closer, "Bright Morning Star," like much of the record as a whole, offers a beacon of light and safe harbor for those shipwrecked on life's rocky shores. --Alanna Nash
Album Description
As a songwriter and performer, Mary Chapin Carpenter has long since transcended the traditional notions of genre and style, finding widespread acclaim for her poetic, elegantly - observed compositions. The Calling, her first release for Zoë/Rounder, is the most topical album she's made in her twenty-year career. While it unequivocally addresses issues both public and political - from the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina to religious zealotry to the trial-by-radio of the Dixie Chicks -- there is also something deeply personal about this extraordinary collection of songs. The album is a powerful, provocative meditation on the mysteries of fate and circumstance, which mingles timeless questions with contemporary issues. Introspective, defiant and deeply resonant, The Calling is a profound set from one of modern songwriting's most distinctive voices.
Featuring "It Must Have Happened," "We're All Right," and "On with the Song."
|
The Calling
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2007-03-06)
- Publisher: Zoe Records
- Label: Zoe Records
- Studio: Zoe Records
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 79 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #2842
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Thanks for sharing your political views. 2008-11-22
Comment: Unlike the reviewer Gilchrist, I'm glad artists like Carpenter, Springsteen, The Dixie Chicks and many others aren't shy about sharing their political views. Those who want to control our speech and political perspectives would prefer that people just ignore politics, or advance a politics of happy talk and god-blessing ourselves. Fortunately, most people refuse to be mind-numbed dittoheads and can deal with critical thought. Carpenter's politics are of the sort that are promoted in the Bible, which include working for social justice Yes!. There are plenty of right-wingers in this country who choose silence and complicity with America's corporate-military matrix The Corporation, and there are 'artists' like Lee Greenwood to entertain them. Other people prefer that artists mix their craft with awareness of the realities of the world, such as the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina When the Levees Broke - A Requiem In Four Acts (Documentary). Regarding 9/11, it was a horrific attack, but the death toll was small compared to what U.S. state terrorists have been inflicting on other countries for generations Rogue State, 3rd Edition: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower.
Carpenter was prescient in suggesting that the U.S. could have decent people in elected office again, as the Obama revolution has proven; but there is another revolution that is taking place in places like Venezuela and Brazil. That movement is based on grassroots power, not the power of politicians Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas, and it is advanced by musicians who don't care about the voices who threaten them with lost sales.
Here are a few other artists who have been raising consciousness, much to the dismay of authoritarian thought police:
Come on Now Social
Stay Human
Sonic Jihad
Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Keep your political views to yourself 2008-11-07
Comment: OK, I've been a MCC fan-have most of her stuff, and once again, just like all of the other media-induced biased robots from Hollywood to New York-continue jumping on the bandwagon of the loud-mouths to judge and point fingers, when most of those people do not have the first sense or clue of the issues, or how we get to where we are at any given time. You cannot put all of the issues & challenges(when was the last time we ever had to deal with a 9/11?!) of this diverse and complex nation into a box, and label it. People in this country are some-so uninvolved and/or clueless, they're happy just to be able to get a fix by griping and complaining and be a bunch of spoiled cry-babies. The only result is tearing down this country, instead of lifting it up. People like Springsteen, the Dixie Ducks, Whoopi, Alec Baldwin, MCC..etc...should shut-up and entertain. I say that even when I may agree with some! Their opinions serve absolutely no purpose-none, but to ultimately shoot themselves in the foot by turning people off from buying their music, & movies. Doesn't sound too intelligent to me, but apparently that's par for the course. So, having said that, I'm surprised MCC, like the Dixie Ducks, in a musical community of Country artists, who's beliefs & values shun the negative attitudes, do not uphold the tradition of the faith-based country community. Maybe it's that they all cannot come up with anything else to say or talk about. For the entertainers out there: It's your perogative to roll the dice with your careers and the fans you claim to care about(only if they're buying your cds, and concert or movie tickets), but please do not use your entertainment platform, as a pulpit for spewing negativity in your personal views & opinions-guess what? Like my comments here I'm sure...NO ONE CARES!
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Better when she doesn't try to preach politics. 2008-04-19
Comment: I like it better when an artist doesn't try to tell me how right thier way of thinking is and how wrong any other political view has to be. I mean they should just stick to entertaining since none of them are smart enough to do more than that.
That aside this is just okay music compared to much of her other work. If you happen to be a big fan (like me) you will likely want this cd (and mostly enjoy it). If you are looking to give Mary Chapin Carpenter a try then I would look into Stones in the Road for a first purchase.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: BEST MCC YET ,SHE'S MATURED LIKE A FINE WINE! 2008-03-25
Comment: This album is her best yet. If you're looking for some of her more hook heavy styled songs like ,SHUT UP&KISS ME ,I FEEL LUCKY& PASSIONET KISSES,this may not be the album for you.If you're looking for songs with depth, passion and strong lyrical and musical content,BUY IT! She has come a long way since her early days. The more you listen to it the more you will love it. The songs have real heart, depth and meaning. Her vocals are as strong as I have ever heard fom her,both musically&recorded. The recording is impeccable,both strong&clear,with vocals that are super strong. The songs are all strong & meaningful.IF you are not moved by "HOUSTON" there is something wrong with you! THIS IS TRUE AMERICANA at it's finest!!!!!!!!!!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Inspirational 2008-02-13
Comment: Although this album didn't win the grammy for which it was nominated - it is well worth adding to your collection of awesome music! Most inspirational album - another great one that could only come from the talents of Mary Chapin Carpenter!
|
The Calling
Enlarge View