Songs from the Movie is a 13th studio album by American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter, released by Zoë Records on January 25, 2014. The album is orchestral music re-recordings of her songs, guided by American composer Vince Mendoza. It has received positive reviews from critics.
Recording and release
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Songs from the Movie received "" based on a weighted average score of four out of 100 from generally positive critic scores.[3] After this album's 2014 release, she performed selections from it with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, Scotland,[4] as well as select performances with domestic orchestras.[1] In 2014, Carpenter's touring schedule included a mix of orchestral performances comprising selections from Songs from the Movie, as well as acoustic sets featuring Jon Carroll, multi-instrumentalist John Doyle, and opening act Tift Merritt.[5] To select the songs, Carpenter collaborated with co-producers Mendoza and Matt Rollings, whittling down a list of songs that were lyrically challenging and told complex stories from throughout her recording career.[6]
Reception
The editorial staff of AllMusic named this the "Best of 2014" and scored it 3.5 out of five stars, with reviewer Thom Jurek noting Carpenter's diverse influences outside of country music and noted how she has "remained vital, productive, and has a track record of consistency most artists would—or at least should—envy" and opining that Mendoza was able to complement her voice with the performers to make an album that is "an almost painterly soundtrack" to Carpenter's life and work.[7] Writing for Country Standard Time, Jeffrey B. Remz thought the album needed "a bit more energy" and "veers decidedly towards the precious and pretty side, but sometimes a bit too much so."[8]The Guardian's Robin Deneslow scored Songs from the Movie three out of five stars, calling the experiment a "brave reworking" of her songs that sometimes has the instrumentation overwhelm the songwriting.[2] Nick Coleman of The Independent scored this album two out of five stars, opining that the compositions are good songs by Carpenter, but that they are "fluffed up massively in a compressed space like this, also a rather stifling one".[9]
Peter Erskine – percussion on "On and On It Goes", "I Am a Town", "Between Here and Gone", "Ideas Are Like Stars", "The Dreaming Road", "Only a Dream", "Come On Come On", and "Goodnight America"
Michael Valerio – acoustic bass on "On and On It Goes", "I Am a Town", "Between Here and Gone", "Ideas Are Like Stars", "The Dreaming Road", "Only a Dream", "Come On Come On", and "Goodnight America"
