Personnel: Mary-Chapin Carpenter (vocals, acoustic guitar); John Jennings (acoustic & electric guitars, piano, synthesizer, bass, background vocals); Peter "Tex Luigi" Bonta (acoustic guitar, accordion, keyboards); Mike Auldridge (dobro, pedal steel guitar); Tommy Hannum (pedal steel guitar); Rickie Simpkins (fiddle, mandolin); Kim Miller, David Premo, Bruce Myers, Steven Day (strings); William Zsembery (French horn); Jon Carroll (piano, organ, keyboards); Rico Petruccelli (fretless bass, bass); Robbie Magruder (drums, percussion); Shawn Colvin (background vocals).
Producers: Mary-Chapin Carpenter, John Jennings.
Recorded at Bias Studios, Springfield, Virginia.
Personnel: Mary Chapin Carpenter (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); John Jennings (guitar, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer, background vocals); Peter Bonta (guitar, accordion, keyboards); Mike Auldridge (dobro); Rickie Simpkins (mandolin, fiddle); David Premo, Kim Miller, Bruce Myers (strings, background vocals); William Zsembery (French horn); Jon Carroll (piano, organ, keyboards); Rico Petrucelli (fretless bass); Robbie Magruder (drums, percussion); Shawn Colvin (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Bob Dawson.
Arranger: Rico Petrucelli.
With hindsight, it's not hard to figure out why Mary Chapin Carpenter's sophomore effort was her commercial breakthrough. Though ostensibly a country album, STATE OF THE HEART covers a wide range of stylistic bases.
"This Shirt" and "Something of a Dreamer" are unabashed singer-songwriter folk tunes--pretty exquisite ones, at that. "Never Had it So Good" and "Quittin' Time" are anthemic folk-rock concoctions not far removed from late-'70s Fleetwood Mac. STATE OF THE HEART could have degenerated into terminal slickness, but Carpenter is a genuinely gifted lyricist capable of wit, realism, and eloquence. Her collaborator, guitarist John Jennings, provides an ideal instrumental backdrop for these musings about love and loss.
Professional Reviews
Q - 3 Stars - Good - Recommended as one of the five best country albums of 1990 (12/91) - "...Carpenter's astute lyrical observation provides the missing link between Janis Ian and K.T. Oslin. Combining a strong melodic gift with a particular feel for the female predicament, Carpenter is a major new talent who should appeal to fans of Nanci Griffith..."
Q (12/94, p.158) - 3 Stars - Good - "...her tremulous vocal style suggests a youth spent listening as much to Janis Ian and Joni Mitchell as to Tammy Wynette and Emmylou Harris. Better than this was to come, but this was a useful start..."
