Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shooting Straight in the Dark
By Dave Hjortland
My listening preference and therefore my reviews tend to favor the analog format, but there was much outstanding music that came out in the ‘wasteland’ years when it languished and its superiority was not acknowledged by the record companies. (I will – harrumph – grant when pressed that the latest and greatest digital technology succeeds in challenging it these days...) Herewith an example.
Mary CC has had a very successful career, turning out 16 studio albums in the last 34 years. She has accumulated numerous awards, including five Grammys. Her music was classified as “country” by her original label, Columbia, for promotional purposes, but in reality it transcends that label. I think the broad category of “Americana” is as good a fit as can be found. Her first two albums – which did come out on vinyl! – were very good and quite enjoyable listens.
But her third album, Shooting Straight in the Dark, is where she really came into her own and it is my favorite of all of her releases. An excellent cast of supporting musicians was assembled, and it was mastered by Bob Ludwig. It features many fine songs, most of which were written by Carpenter. Depending on your radio listening habits, you might have heard “Going Out Tonight,” “You Win Again” or especially “Right Now” on the airwaves. And the most popular song from the album, “Down at the Twist and Shout,” a ‘country rocker’ if ever there was, won a Grammy.
But my favorite cut is the simple and haunting “Halley Came to Jackson.” As well as guitar, it features fiddle work by string maestro Mark O’Connor and hammer dulcimer by the master of that instrument, John McCutcheon. (Both of which have turned out excellent albums of their own!) Mary’s vocals weave around the beautiful instrumentation to create a near-mesmerizing story of the famous comet’s visits. An all too brief song – sigh.
As is the case for most albums, I guess, not every song is fabulous, but the album as a whole is a most fine listen indeed. Her next album was her most commercially successful, 1992’s Come on Come On, and it is also a truly fine album. These two of hers are the ones I recommend most highly. Both of them, along with other CDs of hers, may often be found in the bargain bins of record/CD stores. (CD only, Columbia, 1990)