Search - Mary Chapin Carpenter :: Hometown Girl

Just Because

Scott Kirby | Chatsworth, CA USA | 02/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard "Just Because" when I came to Los Angeles in early 1989 and listened to KTWV (the Wave) when it played "new age" type music (before it became the slick, "smooth jazz" wallpaper outlet it has been for the last 15 years). I became a Mary-Chapin Carpenter fan at that time and have remained so all these years.



I have enjoyed all of her albums, some more than others. But this album "Hometown Girl" still remains my favorite. I don't think there's a bad song on the album. My favorite? Hard to choose because they're all so good. If you have just recently become a Mary-Chapin fan, don't miss this one. It's the mother lode. But that's just one guy's opinion."

Just okay....why are people giving this 5 stars?

Smooth Cinnamon X | Wyoming | 06/07/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Don't have much to say except that this CD is by no means an essential purchase for MCC fans. She peaked during the middle of her album releases, not towards the more recent and certainly not at the very beginning. "Hometown Girl" was always the one that elicited tons of giggles and snickers amongst my friends and me in high school. We all got into MCC from the 'Come On Come On' album, saw her live on the "stones in the road" tour, played 'Stones' and 'COCO' to death, faithfully bought "A Place In The World" when it first came out, expressed disappointment that it wasn't an absolute masterpiece like the last two CDs, and proclaimed "Hero In Your Own Hometown" as the best cut on that CD, hands down. Which is a way for me to come full circle in this review (the key being the word "hometown"!), and say that "Hometown Girl" is a 2-star CD at best. If it weren't for how much I love Chapin, I'd give it one star. If this were a Trisha Yearwood CD, I'd give it half a star.



There's really only 3 songs worth checking out on this: "Just Because" (pretty MCC ballad), "A Road Is Just A Road" (funny and kind of cheesy but finger-snappin' country song), and Chapin's cover of Tom Wait's "Downtown Train". However, this last one is a huge disappointment. Sorry, but I simply adore the bombastic, definitive, Trevor Horn-produced cover version by Rod Stewart. Speaking of which, why do some of the reviewers here spew bile at the idea of an "over-produced" album? What's wrong with a full band, lots of charts (and I mean both musical charts for different instruments as well as the Billboard charts), and beautifully crafted background vocals? Sheesh.



You want MCC at her best? Pick up these three: "Come On Come On" (aka COCO), "Stones In The Road", and "Party Doll". Don't pay more than five bucks for "Hometown Girl"."