Shooting Straight In The Dark
Mary Chapin Carpenter's third album perfected her mix of singer-songwriter introspection, storytelling, and the occasional up-tempo mood changer. It spawned a huge country radio hit in the surprisingly durablezydecoromp "Down at the Twist and Shout," but the most memorable track is "Going Out Tonight," a gutsy, folk-rocking statement of purpose from a brokenhearted woman who's gonna start living again even if it kills her.--Rickey Wright