Ticket 2 Ride

It’s been awhile since I’ve taken an interest in a Mary Chapin Carpenter album. I used to love her work, she had a huge following and she even had radio airplay. Something happened, a change in her style or an album or two I could connect with, or my musical focus drifted elsewhere – but I lost track of her.

A copy of Personal History (2025) came my way and I gave it a listen. Like visiting an old friend, her voice and words were familiar and welcome. Carpenter is a blend or pop, folk and country, confessional songs from shared memories and heartfelt stories that feel like soft rain, the kind we want to walk in and feel on our faces.

Her songs do not break any new ground, which is actually a blessing, because that familiarity to what she’s good at is here again. These are songs of distant memories, yearning and embracing the good things that come our way. Carpenter sings from the heart, her melodies are crisp and easy, not overly sentimental, worn but comfortable like shoes we’ve walked in through many of our best times

Asked about her writing process, she described it as a lot of trial and error.

“It felt a little different this time,” she said in an interview with American Songwriter. “It felt like I was connecting dots and returning to stories that I had carried around in my back pocket for a really long time.”

Interestingly, she recorded this album at Peter Gabriel’s studio in Bath, England. Her producer was Josh Kaufman of Bonny Light Horseman. This is her 17th album Kaufman keeps the focus on Carpenter; some songs have sparse instrumentation, others have bigger arrangements, but it’s Carpenter’s voice that stars in every song. She speaks from the heart: joyous, melancholy, knowing, every word is important and is heard. One might think that after 16 albums she had sang her heart out – not so. Now, 67 years of age, there are new subjects and perspectives to explore. Her voice is in fine shape, aged a little, but still resilient and passionate.

I only needed one listen to appreciate how fine this album is, and a solid addition to her musical library.

Favorite songs: “What Did You Miss”, “Paint + Turpentine”, “New Religion”, “The Saving Things”.