COUNTRY MUSIC INTERNATIONAL

October 1996

It seems that if there's one question guaranteed to prompt an immediate rising of the hackles for Mary Chapin Carpenter it's that old standby: "What's it like to be a spokesperson for women in country? It's not that the East Coast singer-songwriter has any problems answering questions relating to her work, but that age-old chestnut, repeated again and again in interviews since she first appeared with her Hometown Girl debut in 1987, has been asked once too often.

Not that it gets another airing here. Instead, at the end of the interview, CMI mentions the fact that this time around that question hasn't been asked. Carpenter laughs and groans. 'Is that what people think of me over there?' she asks. 'Why is it that people keep asking me that? I can't possibly be a spokesperson for anyone or anything.'

She may be understandably reluctant to start expounding on the women-in-country theme, but Carpenter's lastest album, A PLACE IN THE WORLD, confirms her stature as a formidable singer-songwriter. And yet it's easy to see why the media can't stop themselves exploring that line of questioning. After all, A PLACE IN THE WORLD runs rings around recent releases from many male country artists-many of whom are still preoccupied with singing songs about their trucks and just how damn country they are. The new album confirms what many have known for a long time: that Mary Chapin Carpenter is the best advert for country music there is...

Talking to CMI about your last record, Stones In The Road, you mentioned that you wrote several songs to start with that you hated. Was A Place In The World an easier album to make?

It's never easy making a new album. But at the end of the day it's not an excruciating exercise either, because I love to write- I still enjoy the creative process, however arduous it may be. I started writing Stones In The Road when I came back off the road and it wasn't always easy to get back into the habit of being a songwriter again. These things always take time.

Is this all brand new material or are there songs here that have been waiting around to be recorded?

There are always ideas and parts of songs floating around somewhere-whether it be on tape or in the back of my mind. As far as the actual writing is concerned, this is all brand new material.

John Doe No 24 was described as the 'catalyst' for Stones In The Road. Was there one song that started A Place In The World?

Not in the way that John Doe No 24 did. When I read the story about that character in the newspaper the whole idea for the song came together and that, in turn, seemed to start the writing of the last album. If there was any one song that came close to having the same effect it would have to be Ideas Are Like Stars.

What was the inspiration for the song?

The artist Joseph Cornell. I love his work and it triggered the thought process and the emotions behind the song. I've always found Cornell's work very evocative-and there was something about it that started me writing.

Critics have always picked through your albums trying to find some insight into your personal life. Are we likely to find anything this time around?

I do write very personal songs. There's a lot of me as a person in everything I write, but isn't that inevitable? I don't really accept the idea that someone will listen to a Mary Chapin Carpenter record and say, 'This song is about something she's just been through.' 'It's not as obvious as that.

There's a song on the new record called Let Me Into Your Heart, which has a real Motown flavour. Was this a style you deliberately wanted to explore?

I was aiming for the Smokey Robinson feel, it just seemed to fit the song. The song is feature in the new Rene Russo and Kevin Costner movie, Tin Cup. I was asked to write a song for the soundtrack and I jumped at the chance as I'd never been asked to do anything like that before. They were under no obligation to accept the song, they could have easily turned around and said, 'forget it'. Happily they liked what I came up with.

Did you see a script before you wrote the song?

I didn't want to see a script, because scripts confuse me. I find it hard to envisage what a film is going to be like from reading a screenplay. Guess I'll never become a scriptwriter. Instead I asked them to give me an outline. Basically it's boy-meets-girl or rather boy-swings-golf-club-to-get-girl. Oh, and Don Johnson plays the weird guy.

Have you seen the film yet?

I haven't. But my mom and dad have and they tell me that you can hear the song. It's not just hidden away.

Would you agree that A Place In The World is a more upbeat record than Stones In The Road?

I don't know. I didn't set out with the intention of making a more upbeat record. I'm not sure that Stones was the sombre, downbeat record some people said it was. I actually felt very optimistic when I was making the album and I think that came across. What I was trying to get across was this sense of, 'Ah, here are the many different things we go through, but in the end I'm believing it's really better, not worse.'

Have you made a video clip for the new single yet?

Not yet (laugh). You know how I feel about videos. We were in Boston the other day and the guys in the band went to a baseball game and they were looking around the stadium, going 'this would be a great place to shoot a video'. I was yeah, okay'-trying to change the subject.

The live performance video (Jubilee: Live at Wolf Trap) has just been released in the UK. Was that put out to keep your label happy.

That one wasn't. There's a another compilation of video clips that came out and you can tell how I feel about it by the title: My Record Company Made Me Do This. That just expresses my feelings about all the stuff; recognising that it's important for the label to do these things but it's an acknowledgement on my part that I really don't like doing videos.

How is Jubilee different?

It's straight live performance video with some interview segments in there. It doesn't have some concept or storyline to try and explain the songs. We filmed it in Washington at a venue that I absolutely adore. We've been playing there every year for some time now, so it's become something of a homecoming gig.

There's a song on the new record titled Hero In Your Hometown-small towns often seem to figure in country music lyrics.

But that song isn't so much about small town life as about the reality of growing up and about how when you're young you can have these great expectations in high school and then you wake and realise you have to come to terms with real life.

You've surely in a more privileged position than most-having been able to realise those dreams.

Yes and no. I sometimes think of my musical career as a happy accident. I certainly didn't want to be a singer-songwriter when I was growing up-I hadn't clue what I wanted to do. I stumbled on music when I was a lot older.

You've just received a doctorate of music at Brown University. How did that come about?

Out of the blue. The year I graduated from Brown University in 1981 they gave a doctorate to Aaron Copeland-so that's the kind of company I'm keeping. I almost failed as a music student at Brown-I really wasn't very good. So getting something like this means more to me than any award.

How do you feel about the cristicism from some critics that you're not really a country singer.

I'm not just a country singer. I see myself as a singer-songwriter in my own right, but I think some of my music falls into the country bracket. I don't fit the bill where some people are concerned.

Do you resent that?

I resent the idea that I don't have the right kind of background to sing country music-just because I wasn't brought up in the South or on a farm. Isn't that just the same as saying that country artists are uneducated and have never travelled. That attidtude just buys straight into a stereotype.

America seems to be very guilty of bracketing music.

We do tend to judge a book by its cover and perhaps I've felt the effects of that. I think the world as a whole is guilty of this, but America, especially, is a nation concerned with soundbites, little blurbs-all those quick hits that you see and hear every day on TV, radio and in the newspapers.

Your co-star, Lyle Lovett has probably suffered in the same way.

Lyle is a one-off. He's a complete individual.

Will you be duetting together on this tour?

Possibly. But these things are always spontaneous. Lyle and I have known each other for 10 years, we've never toured together before, but he's joined us for shows when we've played in Washington.

Do you enjoy working with other artists or can it be a creative tug of war?

I enjoy it if there's always a mutual respect there. Doing something like the Ring Them Bells album with Joan Boaz is a perfect example of what a pleasure it is to work with other artists. Joan and Shawn Colvin sing duets with me on the Wolf Trap video.

Having reached this level in your career, do you still find it easy to keep your private life private?

Sometimes. The main thing is that I have always found it hard to open up to people I don't know. I've always felt uncomfortable with the whole celebrity trip. When I've appeared on shows in the states-Letterman or The Tonight Show-it's like, 'Well Mary Chapin, what have you been doing lately? And I'll go 'um....Walking my dog.' That's how bad it can be.' One of the reasons why I don't like talking about my relationships is that I'm afraid they'll fall apart and then I'll have to read about it as well as experience it first-hand.

You've recently written a children's book Dreamland. Was that something you'd always wanted to do?

It's a little bit misleading, because I don't think I've written the book-but that's what they're telling people. It's very flattering, but what we've actually done is take an existing song of mine (Dreamland) and turn the story into a children's book. The song had been around for a while. The real credit should go to the illustrator, Julia Nonnan, who produced some wonderful artwork to go with the story. Proceeds from the book also go to The Institute For Intercultrural Understanding, so it benefits a good cause.

Is there a Great American Novel waiting to be written?

Oh God, no. I'm short on novel ideas. I did a tour book last year and I'm hoping to do another one-but that's about as far as my literary aspirations go. I think I'll stick to the music.