Come On Come On

This is some nice country radio rock. Never heard of it before - thought I recognised a song, but it was a Dire Straits cover. A few softer moments that get kinda meh, but the upbeat stuff with that nice early 90s production is fun. It'll do, you know? I couldn't imagine it getting any really high or low ratings, but it's imo the very definition of a 3/5. It sits perfectly in that groove. Sometimes I give out 3s because I don't want to shit on an album unnecessarily with a 2, or because it was bad but influential, but in this case it just simply deserves a "good job" sticker. 3/5.

Like a lot of new country this feels indistinguishable from whatever light rock/pop. Musically solid if not particularly inventive. Some of the lyrics go interesting places though.

For the second time in a week, I got to sing along with my wife to a project album. It was another of her favorites from the 90s that she had in her CD collection. (Often I can't play project albums around her.) I really love this one, and think it was a shame it was missing from the 1001 list. Mary-Chapin Carpenter writes a wonderful variety of poignant, funny, catchy, and beautiful songs and uses her voice so well to convey each style. This made our pre-Thanksgiving kitchen drudgery much more enjoyable today.

Solid country album hitting all the beats of this era. A good reminder that country was criminally underrepresented considering the amount of early 80s British post punk

Hooray! An album I have routinely revisited for 32 years... I still can’t listen to “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” enough, and “Passionate Kisses” is playing in my mind hours after listening to it. But I haven’t thought about those quieter songs in a while and it was so good to reconnect with them! Accompanied by a solo piano, “Only a Dream” is devastating and beautiful. “I Take My Chances” and “Walking Through Fire” gives a nice dose of inspiration. Definitely a welcome addition to the list… terrific!

Wow! This album is a real nostalgic throwback for me! MCC dominated the country charts back in the 90's with this album, and I get why. All of these songs slap. I don't think she's appreciated enough. She was overshadowed by the onslaught of female country singers that slammed the airwaves at the same time. I see you though, Mary. I love your songs and I think you're fabulous. And to the person that included this album, you are super cool! GREAT choice, very diverse and unexpected.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: The hard way, He thinks he’ll keep her

This was a big album for my mom when I was like 2-5 years old. I don't think I've heard it in 30 years. Shockingly I could still sing along to some of the songs! I'm not sure if it's one of the "great albums" but it holds a special place for me and it was a treat to see it here.

Forgot already

So-so 90s LP with all the radio-friendly trappings of the era. Think this one could’ve made a stronger statement if it chose a lane between the pop and country elements it only dabbled in throughout – Carpenter’s vocals are strong, but the lack of strong melodies means this album feels a bit lacking in a strong artistic statement at the end of the day.

I guess the melodies are nice enough, but even for a poppy country record this is particularly safe and insipid. Rating: 2 Playlist track: The Bug Date listened: 28/11/24

Made time go slower

Guess which studio album release number? Is it four, Alex? I guess the genre is listed as country, but it certain crosses multiple realms. She's got a strong voice and carries the songs without much effort. Most of the songs are great. Love "I take my chances."

Aside from a couple of songs that sound particularly dated, I really appreciated this. Very nice!

Oh, yes! I loved revisiting this one from my past.

Had never listened to the album, just the two big hits. Really swell sounding music.

Generally enjoyable. I remember hearing some of these signs on the radio in the 90s.

Excellent voice. Purer and less country-twang than wonderful Emmylou, so pretty good in my ears. More rock n roll than straight country, but ballads are right up there with Emmylou’s and other classic singers.

Good 90s tunes - I was a lil bit country when this came out so its comforting & fun to listen to!

Nice pick! A vinyl reissue is on pre-order right now at Real Gone.

Its awright 3

Solid songs, solid performance, solid production. There's nothing really bad about this album, it's just sort of... bland, I guess. I think Mary said it best in her song "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" - Everything is so benign, Safest place you'll ever find. Lucinda Williams is a good comparison, since they're both in sort of the same category and Mary covered Lucinda's Passionate Kisses on this album. They're both talented singers and songwriters, but Lucinda just has that spark of something special, while Mary just sounds a bit generic. 3 stars.

This album occasionally drags in pace, although there are some really lovely songs to be found here. Some of the upbeat country rock tunes sound a bit dated now, although Carpenter's cover of "Passionate Kisses" is easily the best song of the bunch. Thanks for sharing. I don't think I've ever spent time with much of Carpenter's music. Fave Songs: Passionate Kisses, Not Too Much to Ask, I Take My Chances, He Thinks He'll Keep Her, Come On Come On

Not bad. Typical country music

This sounds like an "adult contemporary" version of country. Pleasant, easy, all sharp edges removed. And ultimately if the song itself doesn't have a hook, pretty forgettable. The Hard Way and He Thinks are the most interesting and the rest is a glass of room temperature water.

Country. Ni fu ni fa.

A nice and simple pop folk country album. The 90s country styles really bisected with either honky took cowboy songs or the artistic rural simple life country theme and this one goes with the ladder. It’s a nice album that doesn’t push things too far and has a nice simple place in the music world. 6.3/10

I was worried this was gonna be 100% generic singer songwriter boredom but the middle chunk was pretty good country music which made it bearable.

Normally I dislike this kind of smooth country music, but the songs are good and the performance is not bad either (apart from an awful duet).

One of my complaints about the original list is that I found the country selections to be pretty lacking so when I saw this was country I was excited. Was this country? I guess so but it felt more like adult contemporary or something. Just very bland. I like the Dire Straits cover but otherwise I found this very tepid and uninspired and generic. Nothing sharp. I guess easy listening but I was expecting something with a little more grit. My personal rating: 2.5/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this has been included on the original list? Nope. Didn't feel like this was bringing something new to the table that the original list didn't already contain.

Old-school shiny floor Grand Ole Opry style country music. Pleasant enough, but more my dad's taste than mine

Great voice and I wish the style was something other than country.

Didn't mind this. It was varied enough and some good lyrics but a bit too much mum music

Mary Chapin Carpenter can be best understood as the "missing link" between Reba McEntire and Shanaia Twain. As country embraced a more pop-friendly sound into the '90s, artists were more inclined to write songs with more hooks. Mary Chapin Carpenter leans into this a little, but her focus is moreso on lyrical themes that reflect on gendered issues. Yes, women of country have always been rather observant about these things, but songs like He Thinks He'll Keep Her and I Feel Lucky show themes of female empowerment that would run through to Twain's success. Nearly as catchy? No, but still makes for some pretty good country all things considered. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Not quite. Maybe more of a footnote than anything else.

Ok

A solid country pop album but with some good storytelling songs here and there (He Thinks He’ll Keep Her) but nothing too exciting going on melodically or instrumentally so everything just kind of blended into one. Didn’t care for the duet, and it was no real surprise that the best song on here was a Lucinda Williams cover

There were some interesting lyrics/word play and even though country isn’t a genre that I fully enjoy, this was ok.

Can’t say I personally see why you must hear this before you die, but it is a pleasant country record

A nice gentle album which is what I needed today.

The main list is definitely short on country music. This list has been short on it as well. I am glad someone put this on here. It is not my genre but part of this is hearing stuff outside your comfort zone. This won’t become a regular but I’m glad I’ve heard it.

late June 17, 2025 HL: "The Hard Way", "He Thinks He'll Keep Her", the "Passionate Kisses" cover, the "The Bug" cover, "I Am a Town" My love of country music is conditional and fickle. But this is an agreeable enough listen that would be appropriate for a quiet morning. I have to mention, however, that Carpenter & Don Schlitz seem to have written a perfect song in "He Thinks He'll Keep Her". 💐 Maybe this is a grower 3.5 overall

Another great female artist

Fun poppy country, great voice. Unexceptional but perfectly enjoyable.

Never heard of Mary Chapin Carpenter before. Actually better than a couple of modern C&W albums from the original list, here under the influence of other staple figures who brought distinctively feminine topics to the genre, from Dolly Parton to Loretta Lynn. Some of the arrangements in the highlights also subtly borrow pop rock vocabulary, recalling what REM was doing at this exact time. The first three tracks ("The Hard Way", "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" and "Rhythm Of The Blues") are excellent for the genre, and also display some striking moments lyrics-wise. Too bad that the rest then tags along in a decidedly conventional fashion. Her version of Dire Straits' "The Bug" is decent, but can't beat the original. The slow and moody "I Am A Town" aptly evokes a long summer afternoon in the Midwest, "I Take My Chances" is a pretty good song with a lively chorus, and the title track and closer, another slow and moody cut, wraps things up elegantly. But apart from that, there's not much that catches your ear on a first listen. Five or six good tunes out of twelve is not so bad, though. It's just that it's not enough for the requirements of this list. 3/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 8/10 for more general purposes (5 + 3) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 29 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 38 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 73 (including this one) --- Émile, j'ai déjà écrit un bout de quelque chose au dessus, et je vais faire comme toi, des réponses au compte-gouttes -- ça devrait ENFIN être plus rapide ! GeoGuessr, j'adore le concept, et oui, j'y suis allé plusieurs fois il y a quelques années. Ça me fait une piqûre de rappel que tu m'en parles. J'y suis retourné là, et j'ai vu que la version illimitée était maintenant payante. C'était pas le cas avant, non ?

Another fine, middle of the road country album. Starts if strong only to take a dive from “I Feel Lucky” through “Not Too Much To Ask” until a Lucinda Williams cover saves the day. It should be noted that this really isn’t my genre - but Come On Come On is worth a listen.

Hadn't heard/seen her name in ages and upon listening I do remember a few of these tunes. It's not something I'd listen to often - a bit too smooth/slick (production/mix) and country for my tastes, although I like her voice a lot more than most others in the genre. I mean, it is "nice" and I don't mean that in a patronizing way - it's just nice. I suppose it's easy Sunday morning music and nothing wrong with that. 5/10 3 stars.

Above-average piano-based country music. Really demands to be played in a car, imo

A lot of the instrumentation sounded like karaoke backing track but was solid in some other parts. Production wasn’t the greatest. Vocals were there, but didn’t particularly excite. Lyrics were good. Some songs on here were pretty fun. The whole thing was fine, maybe even nice. 3/5

I used to always hate country, but have learnt to tolerate it and in some cases appreciate it. There are some artists I enjoy, but it's quite limited and even then not all songs are enjoyable. This is not bad at all, it's definitely more on the enjoyable side than tolerable. Again, some songs I didn't much like just about tolerated, but "Rhythm of The Blues", "Only A Dream" are pretty good. The cover of "The Bug" isn't bad, but I'm not the biggest Dire Straits fan anyway. Can't go above a 3 though, sorry.

A very "peaceful" country song, a bit saccharine, which I actually didn't really enjoy. It serves well as background music for listening to "something." The woman has a good voice, but I feel that she chose the wrong genre. I think that another type of interpretation would suit her better.

A bit tepid for a country album

This one I don't really hear what's so special about it, but that's probably because this is a genre that am not particulary fond of. So the two stars is purely from my perspective and in no way a stab at what this album means to whoever submitted it.

Think we had enough country pop on the initial list.

Factory settings country music.

I was surprised this came out as late as 1992. It sounds intensely 80s.

I just struggle with country

Good but not my jam

I didn't care for this at all. Beige, boring, predictable, samey. Not interested

Apparently this is one of the ultimate country classics and her breakthrough record — which is surprising, because it opens with painfully by-the-numbers pop-country. For a while I thought I’d be stuck in radio-friendly line-dance hell. But when Carpenter slows it down, something interesting happens. Rhythm of the Blues is a real standout, a ballad with genuine emotion and depth. Only A Dream is another one — melancholic, textured, and easily the best thing on here. Unfortunately, those moments are islands in a sea of safe, stock-standard country-pop that blends together. Not Too Much To Ask might be one of the worst offenders — cloying, saccharine, the kind of ballad that makes your teeth hurt. I’m glad I gave the whole thing a fair listen, but this one’s just not for me. Her ballads show real talent, but the rest? Skippable.

So so

I've heard of her but expected this to be so much more. It's so Middle.Of.The.Road and like one reviewer noted it's like hiring a camper and driving down route 54, switching on the radio and the announcer says "Welcome to KYRE Country Radio, here's a litle bit of Mary for you". It's ok but could be so much more.

Come On Come On is more of that super bland middle of the road country pop. If this is your bag so much that you submit it as your personal favourite, more power to you, but it's just a 2/5 that I won't remember this afternoon.

Sorry but soft country rock just isn’t my jam.

Pleasant radio-friendly country that took forever to finish.

It’s just kind of shocking that of all the albums in the world this has been chosen no offense…LOL I just think like sure there’s talent but I wouldn’t go out of my way to pick this.

Just another day with another meaningless (to me) country album. Not annoying, and the song "Not much to ask" was interesting.

Mom country rock for sure.

Oh shit, I just remembered that I’m out of Bartles and Jaymes.

Not my style

Look, I'm sure this is great and that, but it's just too country, and country is universally rubbish.

Awful, awful 90s AOR/pop/country