I M Staying Out

I really enjoyed Ms. Cary's work with Whiskeytown, and her first solo LP, "While You Weren't Looking." This cd is quite good-strong song writing, gentle vocals that play well off of the musical arrangements, and a wonderful backing band. Among the topics she writes about are a broken marriage, sleeping in on Sunday with your lover, about letting your feelings out, a friend she's lost contact with, and she does it in a way that really makes you think about your own life. There's a nice mix of folk, rock, pop and country-sometimes within the same song like "Sleeping in on Sunday." The one straight up country song is called "Please Break My Heart" and it is a real gem. I can imagine Patsy Cline singing this song if she were still alive! "Cello Girl" is a rock song that really grows on you with repeated listens-it's one of my favorite songs on the cd. The closing song is called "I Want To Learn To Waltz With You," and it's the only one that Ms. Cary didn't write herself. It's a song of real grace and beauty, and she does a beautiful version of it here. (Just for the record, Peter Holsapple wrote it, and it was performed by his former band The Continental Drifters on the cd Vermilion.) A must have for all Caitlin Cary fans, and anyone that enjoys well-thought out songs that give equal prominence to the vocals, lyrical content, and the music that accompanies it.

Caitlin Cary may not have took the world by storm like Ryan Adams did, but album by album she is slowly building a reputation as an artist to watch for. Cary is also from the now defunct group Whiskeytown, and she holds her own on this sophomore album, that builds on the sound of her first album WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING. The album has some great songs all throughout, and some truly memorable songwriting that is strong and full of depth and warmth. The album is a combination of folk, pop, soul, and country music. Mary Chapin Carpenter guests on the album, which is great. There are many standouts here but my favorites are "Empty Rooms", the title track, "You Don't Have To Hide", "Cello Girl", "The Next One", and "Please Break My Heart". Check it out!

Caitlin Cary originally was a part of the alt-country band Whiskeytown. When the band disbanded, Caitlin and fellow member Ryan Adams went solo. Caitlin's first album WHILE YOU WERENT LOOKING garnered praise and good reviews all around. In the spring of 2003 she returned with her new album IM STAYING OUT. By far my favorite track on the album is the uptempo rocker "Cello Girl", a song about remembering someone from the past and wondering what they are up to these days, trying to remember their name. "Beauty Fades Away" is the prettiest song on the album, that ponders the idea of everlasting love and if it will remain true after beauty has faded. "The Next One" is another great track, about being in transition waiting to fall in love with someone again. "Sleepin In On Sunday" is one of the better tracks of the album, pretty self explanatory about a lazy afternoon. "In A While" is a nice slow alt-country type song about disapointed expectations. The songs are very relatable to real life and easy to get lost in. Many of the songs stick in my head, make me hum or sing along. "You Don't Have To Hide" is a great song about asking a lover to open up. Other highlights include "Empty Rooms", "Lorraine Today", "I Want To Learn To Waltz With You" and "Please Break My Heart". Caitlin covers a variety of emotions on this album and it's one of my favorites from 2003 thus far.