Track Listing

1. Lot Like Me
2. Other Streets and Other Towns
3. Hometown Girl
4. Downtown Train
5. Family Hands
6. Road Is Just a Road
7. Come on Home
8. Waltz
9. Just Because
10. Heroes and Heroines

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138353 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Inspiration and hard work
Has it really been 13 years since Mary Chapin Carpenter first cast her magic spell on me? When I explore my music collection, most often my favorites are artists' first releases. Hometown Girl included. There are several reasons for this phenomenon. First releases are culled from years of work. Usually the artist (and the record company of course) selects his best material - the songs that worked well in school auditoriums and small venues. Second, the artist is hungry for a wider audience, but also anxious of failure. It's sink or swim. And lastly, first releases don't merit a million dollar production with 50-member coral groups and a full symphony orchestra.

Hometown Girl wins my approval for all the previous reasons. The source of `A Lot Like Me' is a partnership with other musicians paying their dues in the small venues. There's fear of failure in `Hometown Girl,' but also fear of success. And I'm sure `A Road Is Just A Road' got the two-shades-to-the-wind bar crowd up from the tables and doing to two-step. Hometown Girl features no choral arrangement or symphony orchestra, just Mary Chapin Carpenter with a small back-up band. The result of Mary Chapin Carpenter's inspiration and hard work is irresistible.

The Roots of Mary-Chapin Carpenter
"Hometown Girl" is an album which wasn't released by Columbia Records as much as it just escaped. Mary-Chapin was a virtual unknown outside of the Washington, D.C. beltway in 1987, and "Hometown Girl" received next to no publicity at the time of its first appearance. It remains as one of my favorite recordings by her, and "Just Because" is a simply beautiful song. The supporting musicians on this album are amazing -- especially Mark O'Connor and Tony Rice. If you enjoy the simplicity and beauty of Mary-Chapin Carpenter's music and lyrics, you will not be disappointed by this recording.

For thoughtful folk-oriented listeners
I own a few hundred CDs and get tired of most after listening repeatedly. I've never gotten tired of this one and I've listened to it more than any other. It's more thoughtful than her other CDs, slower, and simply beautiful. In my (folk fan) view, this is her very best.