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Our Review

The warm, folksy voice of Mary Chapin Carpenter is a mighty fine gift on a quiet December evening. Her first holiday release, Twelve Songs of Christmas, is a richly-crafted, laid-back country jewel combining lesser known seasonal pieces with new MCC creations. The recipe successfully yields an acoustic beauty of rare delights.

It is no surprise that MCC, a Grammy Award winner five times over, writes fabulous music. Her title track is a lovely showpiece, a heartfelt celebration of the nativity (alleluia!). The next number, Christmas Time in the City is about a street musician playing for change during the holidays; the pervasive percussion nicely creates the feel of the subway train and city traffic. I particularly loved MCC's simple Thanksgiving Song; its powerful message of "let grateful days be endless" had me close to tears.

In addition to MCC's own creations, she provides excellent covers of classy classics and more unfamiliar gems. The closing Children, Go Where I Send Thee is lovingly low-key. On Hot Buttered Rum (a fine song by Charles "Tommy" Thompson), MMC cheers a loved one's heart in the dead of winter, saying, "You're my sweet maple sugar, honey, hot buttered rum."

Mary Chapin Carpenter's throaty, deep vocals provide texture and comfort. Twelve Songs of Christmas delivers a dozen excellent tracks, all nicely wrapped in the soft warmth of MCC's voice. Superb!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2008)

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From the liner notes:

Musicians:
Jon Carroll: piano except on tracks 8, 12
John Jennings: piano on tracks 8, 12, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, percussion, accordion, harmonies
Mary Chapin Carpenter: vocals, acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10), harmonies

Produced by John Jennings and Mary Chapin Carpenter
Recorded and Mixed by John Jennings at Red Hill, Charlottesville, VA
Mastered by Charlie Pilzer at Airshow Mastering, Springfield, VA

Cover photography by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Elysium Farm, Virginia, December 2005



From the Website:

A Mary Chapin Carpenter holiday CD is something the singer/songwriter has been thinking about for a long time. But she's waited until she could do it her way. As Carpenter explains: "I had been asked for many years by my old label to do a Christmas record, but their need was for music that was more familiar to the public. I love holiday music but I wanted to do something that was a bit more off the beaten path. When I found myself recording for Rounder/Zoë, I thought perhaps the time had come to attempt this. These are songs that I have loved for a long time, as well as new music that I wrote for the project."
The result is Come Darkness, Come Light, a thoughtful collection of holiday-themed songs approached from an intimate, primarily acoustic perspective. Co-produced by Carpenter and John Jennings, the album includes some favorite Christmas songs by other writers, rarely heard traditional tunes, and six Carpenter originals.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Come Darkness,
Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas

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Track List