Stones in the Road

Stones in the Road

ASIN: B000002A5K

Track Listings

1. Why Walk When You Can Fly

2. House of Cards

3. Stones in the Road

4. Keeper for Every Flame

5. Tender When I Want to Be

6. Shut up and Kiss Me

7. Last Word

8. End of My Pirate Days

9. John Doe No. 24

10. Jubilee

11. Outside Looking In

12. Where Time Stands Still

13. This Is Love

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
The 1994 sequel to her mainstream country breakthrough on Come on Come On further underscores Mary Chapin Carpenter's true identity, more Ivy League folk rocker than new country cowgirl. Her coolly delivered, deeply felt songs include meditations on family, community, and social injustice without rant or cant, never more so than on the gently incisive midlife reflections of the title song, which filters historic milestones and childhood lessons through its delicate verses. Elsewhere, she sketches a heart-breaking, restrained speculation on the inner life of a blind, deaf mystery man ("John Doe No. 24") with the economy and detail of good short story. The set's many love songs are no less intelligent, emotionally authentic, or moving. Chapin Carpenter's elegant yet earthy alto is beautifully framed in the settings, coproduced with longtime collaborator John Jennings, that balance jangling guitars, rippling piano, occasional fiddle and crisp rhythm sections closer to the best of L.A. country rock than what normally emanates from Nashville. --Sam Sutherland

Tracks:

Why Walk When You Can Fly
House Of Cards
Stones In The Road
A Keeper For Every Flame
Tender When I Want To Be
Shut Up And Kiss Me
The Last Word
The End Of My Pirate Days
John Doe No. 24
Jubilee
Outside Looking In
Where Time Stands Still
This Is Love

Amazon.com essential recording

The 1994 sequel to her mainstream country breakthrough on Come on Come On further underscores Mary Chapin Carpenter's true identity, more Ivy League folk rocker than new country cowgirl. Her coolly delivered, deeply felt songs include meditations on family, community, and social injustice without rant or cant, never more so than on the gently incisive midlife reflections of the title song, which filters historic milestones and childhood lessons through its delicate verses. Elsewhere, she sketches a heart-breaking, restrained speculation on the inner life of a blind, deaf mystery man ("John Doe No. 24") with the economy and detail of good short story. The set's many love songs are no less intelligent, emotionally authentic, or moving. Chapin Carpenter's elegant yet earthy alto is beautifully framed in the settings, coproduced with longtime collaborator John Jennings, that balance jangling guitars, rippling piano, occasional fiddle and crisp rhythm sections closer to the best of L.A. country rock than what normally emanates from Nashville. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

Sublime.......2006-12-14

MCC is a true artist. Everything she has done has built up to this pinnacle. She is truly one of the absolute best singer-songwriters in the world today, an absolute treasure.

This is one of those albums that just takes you to another level, another place. There is no way to categorize this music; it is just good listening! Every song is cohesive. Every song is its own story, and the entire album ties together so wonderfully.

One of Mary Chapin Carpenter's Best Albums.......2006-12-04

I thought I had reviewed "Stones in the Road" a long, long time ago. Don't ask me how I managed to skip writing a splendid review of one of fellow Brunonian Mary Chapin Carpenter's best albums. Here she offers a somewhat more somber, bleaker tone, than expressed in her earlier albums, "Shooting Straight in the Dark", and especially, "Come On Come On". Still, this works as a rather convincing, quite coherent body of work, replete with her eloquent, thoughtful lyrics and rich melodies, all of which were written solely by herself. In this regard, "Stones in the Road" is most reminiscient of Elton John's "The One", which should be regarded more for offering an entire album of excellent songs often thematically related to each other, than merely as an album which yielded a couple of great hit singles like "The One" and "The Last Song". My favorite song from Carpenter's 1994 album remains the title track "Stones in the Road", which is without question, among her finest ballads. But I also like a lot her feisty "Shut Up and Kiss Me", which owes more to her interest in honky tonk country music, than the otherwise predominantly folk/rock orientation of this album. "Stones in the Road" is yet another reason why I regard Mary Chapin Carpenter as one of our great country/folk songwriters, whom I compare favorably to both Nancy McCallion of The Mollys, that great Tucson, Arizona-based Celtic/country/Mexican band, and of course, Lucinda Williams, whose song "Passionate Kisses" was covered by Carpenter in her album "Come on Come On", and became one of Carpenter's greatest hits.

...the chosen road..........2006-04-21

...i can't believe i never reviewed this album...this is simply the most brilliant piece of wax to ever exist for any one who actually appreciates the art of writing a song (and not just songwriting)...so few and far between are there exquisite masterpieces like this that exemplify the craft so beautifully (other examples in this small, but important, category, are Tina Vero's "In The Waiting", Andy and Denise's "Sunlight In Goodbye", and Linda Dunn's self-titled "Linda Dunn" album.)...
Get these four albums and you won't even need a 'top five'...

Wow.......2006-04-10

I couldn't think of a good title for this review, but the word, "Wow" keeps popping to my mind in regards to this album, so I figured that would do.

I owned three Mary Chapin Carpenter albums in my collection before purchasing Stones in the Road recently. I had felt that Shooting Straight in the Dark and Come On Come On were almost perfect albums, and would be very difficult to impossible to beat, but I had wanted to expand my MCC library. Then I got Stones in the Road. Wow.

As much as I love music, it's rare that I actually love entire albums. Usually I really love 2-3 songs, the bulk are okay, and then there's the duds. Not so with Stones in the Road. As another couple reviewers have stated, it is that rarest of things, the perfect album. I think the fact that three of Mary Chapin Carpenter's albums that I own (out of 5 currently) fall into the "love the entire album" category speaks very much to MCC's talent as a singer and songwriter. There are only a very few other artists in my collection I can say that about for multiple albums. (And actually, I also really like the entire Hometown Girl album, but it doesn't have nearly as much impact as the others.)

It's been a long time since I was completely obsessed with listening to an album over and over again when I first got it, but I surely did that with Stones in the Road. The songs cover a wide variety of topics, from songs about love to MCC's signature story type songs. Unlike at least one reviewer, I don't feel the dearth of uptempo songs hurts this album in any way. Maybe because I tend to like her ballads more anyway.

The album is so good in its entirety, that it's difficult for me to pull out individual songs to point to specific stand-outs. So I'll just choose one to comment on. This is Love is one of, if not the, most powerful songs about love that I've ever heard. It's not your typical, "Oh I love you so much, you're fabulous" love song. It's a song that demonstrates knowledge of what true love is, and how it transcends life's decisions and heartaches.

I still think the albums Come On Come On or Shooting Straight in the Dark are better introductory albums for people who are not yet dedicated MCC fans. But if you are a fan and do not have Stones in the Road yet, it's an absolute must and you'll only be sorry it took you this long to acquire it.

Excellent.......2005-10-12

I own nearly 800 CDs, but there are few that I would feel compelled to review. Stones in the Road is an absolute stand-out. It has been part of my collection since it was first released, and it continues to amaze.

Average customer rating:

Pale Shade of Blue

Manufacturer: First Floor Story Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAF256
Release Date: 2003-02-04

5 Songs Live 1990 (Never/Road/Beatles & The Stones/In a Room/Christine) EP

Average customer rating:

5 Songs Live 1990 (Never/Road/Beatles & The Stones/In a Room/Christine) EP
The House of Love
Manufacturer: Phonogram Ltd. (London)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000O54OYE

Product Description

Rare 1990 live EP from The House of Love. Recorded for live broadcast by WXRT Radio of Chicago at the Cabaret Metro on 6/2/90. Engineered and mixed by Timothy Powell, Live sound by Oliver Dow, Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisc. TRACKLISTING: 1. NEVER (LIVE) 3:50, 2. ROAD (LIVE) 4:15, 3. BEATLES AND THE STONES (LIVE) 4:14, 4. IN A ROOM (LIVE) 3:35, 5. CHRISTINE (LIVE) 3:27.

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