Shooting Straight in the Dark

by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Overview

Although Mary Chapin Carpenter's second album yielded two Top Ten hits, it was the release of 1990's Shooting Straight in the Dark that confirmed her talents as an artist who could easily stage a crossover without relinquishing her country roots. With an even stronger infusion of folk and pop, Carpenter opened herself up to a wider market, taking the Cajun-tinged "Down at the Twist and Shout" (with the help of Beausoleil ) to number two on the country charts, a song that also netted her a Grammy for best country vocal performance by a female. Both "You Win Again" and Gene Vincent's "Right Now" were also released as singles, expanding Carpenter's exposure even more so, but the other tracks from the album also reveal her lyrical strength and attentive songwriting prowess. "Halley Came to Jackson" is a wonderful tale about a small town's fascination with and misconception about Halley's comet back in 1910, while tracks such as "What You Didn't Say" and "When She's Gone" are also fresh-sounding country efforts that shine a light on her delicate but hearty singing style. Carpenter gets some help from Shawn Colvin on a few of the cuts and, because their collaboration worked so well, she and a number of other artists appeared on her next album and on 1994's Stones in the Road, expanding her material to an even greater extent. Shooting Straight in the Dark was indeed a breakthrough album for Carpenter, not only in a commercial sense but at a personal level as well, and its progressive repercussions helped in making 1992's Come on Come On an even stronger effort, spawning a myriad of hit singles. ~ Mike DeGagne

Product Details

Release Date:	09/24/1990
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0074644607727

Tracks

1. Going out Tonight
2. Right Now
3. The More Things Change
4. When She's Gone
5. Middle Ground
6. Can't Take Love for Granted
7. Down at the Twist and Shout
8. Halley Came to Jackson
9. What You Didn't Say
10. You Win Again
11. The Moon and St. Christopher

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mary Chapin Carpenter   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Guitar
Michael Doucet   Guest Artist,Fiddle,Vocals,Voices
Marti Jones   Guest Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Don Dixon   Guest Artist,Bass,Vocals (Background)
John McCutcheon   Guest Artist,Dulcimer,Hammer Dulcimer
Shawn Colvin   Guest Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Mike Cotter   Vocals (Background)
David Palmer   Drums
Rico Petrucelli   Bass
Billy Ware   Voices,Percussion
John Jennings   Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Voices,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass),Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Peter Bonta   Bass,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic)
Vince Santoro   Drums
Matt Rollings   Piano
Robbie Magruder   Drums
Herb Pedersen   Vocals (Background)
Jimmy Breaux   Voices,Accordion
Mark O'Connor   Violin,Fiddle
Jon Carroll   Vocals (Background),Piano

Technical Credits

Mary Chapin Carpenter   Composer,Producer
Scott Bonner   Photography
Caroline Greyshock   Photography
Bill Johnson   Art Direction
Ron Keith   Photography
Bob Dawson   Engineer
Sylvester Bradford   Composer
John Ewards Jennings   Composer
John Jennings   Composer,Producer
Al Lewis   Composer
Jim DeMain   Engineer