Come On Come On
proved that even with two previous hit albums under her belt,
Mary Chapin Carpenter
was still as hot as could be. This album serves as one of the signposts that
contemporary country
would not only aspire to, but actually become in the 21st century. One need only to stack this slab up against 2006 recordings by
Little Big Town
and
Sugarland
to see the roots of
Carpenter
's blend of sophisticated
pop
,
folk
, and
soft rock
with
country
. This disc climbed all the way to number six on the
charts, yielding an astonishing seven hit singles, fully revealing
's meld of aesthetics, skill, and marketing savvy, and she established herself not only as one of her chosen genre's top artists, but crossed over into the then-burgeoning
Americana
and AAA radio formats as well. With friends such as
Rosanne Cash
Joe Diffie
Shawn Colvin
the Indigo Girls
lending a hand, there's a full range of
-styled songs strewn across the album, helping it and
herself gain enormous recognition from other audiences outside of
music.
"He Thinks He'll Keep Her,"
a title keeping with
music's tradition of double entendres, became
's first number one hit, while the confident
"I Feel Lucky"
peaked at number four and netted her another Grammy.
Lucinda Williams
'
"Passionate Kisses,"
with its beautiful guitar arrangements, also made it to number four, and
's vocal enthusiasm makes
Dire Straits
"The Bug"
one of the album's most spirited efforts. These songs, along with the title track's compelling
essence, gave
Come on Come On
a well-rounded sound and exposed her talent for reaching slightly beyond the genre's long-established niches. Not only is
's music extendable, but her writing rescues
music from its familiar themes of "love 'em and leave 'em" conventionality while still managing to portray maturely the perils of romance and heartbreak from a female perspective.
repeated much of
's full-ranged charm for 1994's
Stones in the Road
release, which garnered her yet a third Grammy in as many albums. ~ Mike DeGagne & Thom Jurek