wow you know you've got real clout when you have 6 hall of famers singing harmony with you onstage live...mary (her mom's name) chapin (her dad's name) has delivered so many great hook filled songs with top tier production for a long time...and during the virus days did live video from her home with a lovely acoustic so check those out for fun & goose bumps...
Mary Chapin Carpenter is such a talented singer/songwriter. She deserves all the praise and admiration and more. Her guitar playing and singing has always been heart felt and dynamic, Thank you .
Mary Chapin Carpenter is one of my favourite female entertainers. She is one of the best singer songwriters of her generation. Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful analysis!
MCC is a genius. She is a writer that has a song - Only A Dream - that still never fails to make me cry every time I hear it. This could pass for jolly but still has a super weighty and empowering message. Top quality stuff
So many great songs by Mary Chapin Carpenter! "Quitting Time," " You Never Had it so Good ( I Never had it so Bad, " great country songs. My all-time fave may be her cover of Lucinda Williams' "Passionate Kisses." But what sets her apart IMO is her ability to create songs that are hauntingly beautiful poetry. Two examples are " I Am a Town, " and "Come On Come On." Love her! One thing Fil may or may not know is the inspiration for this song - a Tv ad back in the 80s for a vitamin tonic where a man talks about all the amazing things his little woman does for the family. He then gazes lovingly at her and says smugly, "My wife. I think I'll keep her." Every woman I know gagged at that patronizing ad! Mary wrote this song in response. Pretty funny!
Funny you mention Mary's southern "twang" - she's a Yankee from New Jersey! Any twang you're hearing is something she's added (nothing wrong with that, but it's not her natural tone of voice). You are absolutely right about her feeling very ambivalent about the boundaries of being packaged as a "country" artist - while it was extremely beneficial for her career on a commercial level, in the long run it ran her into some walls she might not otherwise have faced as the industry types kept expecting "Come On Come On" with every release she made. If they had actually listened to the lyrics of this album, they'd have understood that this was an artist at odds with the neat little box they had constructed for her. Anyway, this is a great song with some of the great ladies of country music from one of my favorite eras of the genre.
I like your agenda.. much like Mojo Magazine and some others, you find stuff to show us that you have praise and positivity for.. genre be damned. Thanks for your vids mate.
MCC. I was fortunate to have lived in Nashville when MCC came on the scene. It wasn't uncommon to be able to hear her in small Nashville venues. Her lyrics always blew me away. John Jennings was an absolute guitar god as far as I was concerned. I still queue-up MCC here at home from time to time. For me, it's not just nostalgia. It's damned good music and lyrics. Thanks for this, Fil!
I loved this special. The best part is the finale when MCC sings her song "The Hard Way" and almost every woman country singer still living came on the stage. First it was those popular at the time (aka Modern Country), then Tammy Wynette came on and she was really the transition between traditional and modern, then the traditional singers poured onto the stage. Lynn Anderson, Dale Evans, Patsy Montana, June Carter Cash and the rest of the Carter sisters, Rose Maddox, and so many others. Incredible.
Some of the best country artists in the world -- all on the same stage! These ladies are all so talented, and MCC is a great singer and songwriter. Love her work. Thanks for posting this, Fil!
Great to see MCC get the appreciation she deserves. I discovered her around the time of “Come On, Come On” and became an instant fan. “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” is a feminist anthem and my favorite MCC song. And yes, “Songs from Home” is a fabulous series, intimate and pure, her soothing voice and evocative strumming (in altered tunings) delivering her beautifully crafted songs. Angus, her Golden Retriever, and White Kitty appear on occasion 😍
Around the mid 2000's I saw Mary in Westbury, Long Island. I had heard of her but didn't really know many of her songs but went to her concert pretty much on a whim. I left the show a fan.
If my memory is not failing me. This version became so popular that they had to release it as another single. This video is called the multi million dollar song because if you take the value each of those artist are it's insane. Fil thank you as always for reminding me of my love of music and opening my eyes to the musicality behind why I love these songs
Fil your smile is contagious, I really enjoy hearing you break down these performances. I have learned so much from you and now I am hearing music in a brand new way
I just discovered her through her solo acoustic performances that she is streaming from her home. She is a great guitarist, singer as well as a thoughtful songwriter.
I have loved Mary for a long time now but I have developed a real respect for her the last few months during this Covid pandemic. Almost from the start shes been doing a daily video from her home. Just her, a guitar, and sometimes her dog. They are so good. Thanks Fil for doing this video!! Love the variety of artists!
I'm not much of a country music fan, but this is just a great song, no matter what genre you call it. Also, very nice demonstration of the chords. It's a pleasure to hear you play.
Check out her " Live at the Wolf Trap " concert video. It's from about '95 or so. She was at the pinnacle of her career at the time and the band was smokin'. I videotaped it off of a PBS " pledge break " special. As John Jennings said in the show : " Chapin's voice is an invitation to intimacy . " R.I.P John Jennings.
You have some of the biggest names in country music up there. Emmylou Harris, Trisha Yearwood, Pam Tillis, Patty Loveless, Suzy Boggus and Kathy Mattea. May Chapin Czrpener has a really fun Cajun song called Down at the Twist and Shout and a song Mary wrote and is su g by Wynona Judd called Girls With Guitars that is also fun. You might like to check those out. Love her. Thanks Fil.
Great ensemble performance by these ladies. Tricia's harmony during the chorus crescendo always gives me chills. A fine analysis, as usual, Fil. Jerry Douglas on the slide.
Hey Fil. That steel guitar you were talking about is being played by the great Jerry Douglas who plays resonator with Alison Krauss and Union Station and some of the best bluegrass bands ever. Widely regarded as one of the best Dobro players ever. Not sure if you have ever done an analysis on Jerry but you really should.
She's an utter delight! Why haven't I heard of her before? Fil, I love the way you cover the wide expanse of genres and artists there are and open us up to the huge field there is to explore. Thank you! 💜🙏
Vince Gill has said Mary is the 'Poet Laureate of Country Music'. Wouldn't you love to have had that group of ladies backing up Wings of Pegasus? Thanks again for a superb analysis!!!
Wow!!! Excellent selection for analysis Mary chapin is a great country singer and in addition to that she composes and plays the guitar quite well, the accompaniment of guitars and backing vocals give this song an incredible strength to it. Congratulations 👏👏👏👏👌👌👌👌🎤🎸🎵🎼🎶♩👍👍👍⚘⚘⚘👊🤘
I saw Mary a few years ago in an intimate setting up in the Colorado mountains. She played several different acoustic guitars and only had a few bandmates with her. She was fantastic! (Btw, your guitar has a lovely tone.)
Charles Hoernemann, she had Duke Levine playing lead guitar when I saw her at the Newport Festival many years ago. If you wanna hear a great instrumental guitar-oriented record, "Nobody's Home" by Levine is killer!
Great performance musically with Excellent vocals! Mary's songwriting has always been amazing and versatile. Impressive all around. Enjoyed this. Thanks Fil for great analysis and demo! 😎🎼🎶🎵🇨🇦
Good evening Fil! By now I m sure you heard We lost two great musical legends, so I'd be interested in hearing your analyses of ( can't believe I'm saying the late) country legend Charlie Daniels or the legendary composer and conductor Ennio Morricone . Thanks!
Hi Fil! One of the greatest singers! Such a gorgeous voice! Thanks for showcasing her talents! She sure came out of any fear she may have had! You can tell why she was so popular....she connected with the crowd! ✌️
Ms. Mary Chapin Carpter.. love her music!! She's a badass and just awesome! She was one of the last great country artists before Country Music became the crud it is today. Not many songs of her I do not like. Great analysis as always Professor Fil.... :)
Great analysis Fil! Mary Chaplin Carpenter is one of the finest songwriters of our times. I place her alongside Gretchen Peters, Matraca Berg, Kim Richey, Beth Neilson Chapman et al. MCC is a superb "wordsmith". Her lyrics are worth reading on their own without the music. Saw her back in the 1990's when "Come On, Come On" was her latest release and followed her music since. I think she had Martin Ditcham (?) formerly of Fairport Convention on drums in her UK touring band at the time. One of my favourite tracks is "Beautiful Racket" from one of her later albums. The guitar on the middle eight section sounds like the player (John Jennings? RIP) is just crashing across the chords. Sounds to me like a beautiful racket! Listen to "Almost Home" - a perfect description of the human condition IMO. Genius lyrics, good playing and superb arrangements always. Her best of album "Party Doll and Other Songs" is well worth the money. Thanks again Fil!
She was a hit machine those few years! Listen to the hook of this tune! So good. Saw her live in her prime. Thanks for covering it. Btw im a Hendrix, garcia, coltrane etc. head
It is easy to see why a diversion from Rock into Country was so easy for these few golden years. During this time period Country was soaring. Something stuck in my mind about the inspiration for this song. The song was inspired by a comment made in a commercial ("I think I'll keep her") Country music was setup for a pretty good 10+ year run from this point, some real gems were the result. Thanks Fil.
It should be pointed out that MCC is an Americana-folk singer-songwriter who found favour with the C&W crowd, as a listen to the album Come On, Come On, from which this single is taken clearly shows...
the SADDEST thing about this song----- is it's SO TRUE!!! so many women can relate . they're just a cog in a man's wheel of life... not a real person w/ needs to be loved + cherished!!! men take heed, of course we service the kids, but we need kind words, affection, + being valued for more than just what we do!!! --
Excellent, Fil. I love MCC. She played a song at 10 on Sunday mornings for about a year during the pandemic on Facebook and Instagram. She also shared her dog Angus and her now late cat White Kitty, and we all came to wait for her Sunday "Songs from Home" concert knowing it would be a highlight of the week. She is amazing, and so are you.
'What If Went To Italy' is my favorite M.Chapin Carpenter song. That said she's a bit like Paul Simon in that she came a genre 'Country' P. Simon 'folk,' folk rock' Now they are both considered good ''songwriters."
Great analysis, wonderful. 👏There is a lot of talent on that stage. Oh Fil I think you liked a stage full of women. lol. I was listening to "Straight from the Heart" by Bryan Adams when you put this out there and after you mentioned some songs I listened to "Shut up and kiss me" 😍😍😍❤❤❤ I want, I better not think out loud. lol. Have a good evening. ❤
Fil, thanks for all your insight on this performance. I actually recall watching this live on TV because the excellent ensemble performance had left an impression on me. In the last chorus the backing vocal choreography was more like a Greek chorus rather than a traditional country backing style, and the result was extraordinary. Mary Chapin Carpenter was always a good live performer.
I haven’t seen or heard a lot of her Fil....but I must say she is absolutely brilliant! An amazing voice and so melodic! Sensational Fil! Cheers Mario! 😀👌🤘
Glad you picked this song and version to review. This live version is one of my fave songs of all time and what got me into Mary. I particularly love the arrangement here, with her singing the verses and Trisha coming in to harmony on the choruses and the rest of the ladies combining on the She Thinks She'll Keep Her line. Great stuff, but by far the part that just wows me every time I hear it is the 6 voice contrasting harmony vocal lines the 6 ladies do on the last chorus after the breakdown. It is a pure wall of beautiful harmonic voices blending perfectly together to make something just wonderful. You can see how much Trisha gets into it when she closes her eyes singing the last line. For all 6 of them this must have been a serious wow moment. Well done Mary pulling this together.⭐
When you have an All-Star lineup singing back up vocals you know you are the cool kid of the group just hanging back most of the time watching your friends have fun!
I was always impressed with her music. I remember around that time frame she was a guest on many music specials on tv. There was one that had Lyle Lovett and Dwight Yokam in it with her, I Feel Lucky was the song. Seeing this brought back enjoyable memories! Thanks Fil!
Great song! My kids were toddlers & even in in the 90s this song resonated with me! She is great! I know you'll already have read abt the song's inspiration from that tired US commercial cuz ur sharp that way~"He thinks he'll keep her " was the tag line~ talking abt his wife~ (and yet she didn't punch him in the tv ad like I would have! Lol! )
You really get into your subjects’ bio and techniques. Every time I watch one of your analyses, I feel like I’ve attended a seminar and actually learnt something new. Other reviewers just cannot match your depth and multi-faceted presentations. Thanks Fil. Please check out : “Jenny and the Mexicats: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert.” Your analytical expertise is needed because this band and their music is very complex. They’re a lively happy Mexican band on the surface, but there seems to be many multi-directional currents going on underneath their music. For starters, “Jenny,” their lead singer, plays a trumpet in the style of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, sings in Spanish, but when she stops to talk to the audience, she speaks in the “Queen’s English.” But they’re from Mexico...doesn’t this pique your curiosity? Someone commented that when she plays the trumpet, it makes him, “want to ride on a horse while the police are chasing me.” This is so “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” with Burt Bacharach’s soundtrack in the background. And she really looks familiar, at least to me...like, I’ve seen her somewhere before or she reminds me of someone famous I’ve seen, but I just can’t pin down who. Again, thank you Fil...I hope You Tube, realizes that it’s quality programs like yours that make You Tube watchable. -Allan, Vancouver, British Columbia. Canada. MnJL06/20 10:35 pm
Still a beautiful sound. Great lyrics. I remember starting to DIG Mary Chapin Carpenter and she sang three sets at Knotts Berry Farm where I worked in RIDES while I also was an English Teacher. So I got in for free and watched all three sets!
Hi Phil, I've played in many female fronted bands over the years and every one of them wanted to do MCC tunes. I ended up bringing an acoustic/electric 12 string guitar just for this song. Every song we played by her was to the "T" and original key. Love her very much. Huge respect for her and her abilities Great choice.
Mary Chapin Carpenter was the first country and western concert I ever attended. Let me tell you, country fans are a LOT more rowdy and obnoxious than rock fans. I have attended 3 more country concerts and it still holds true. They get shit faced drunk and sing along to every song they know. No more country concerts for me please. But hey if you like the odor of puked up beer, you may have a different opinion. That being said MCC is one hell of a singer.
