Search - Caitlin Cary :: I'm Staying Out

Engaging, some great songwriting

Tanya V. | Pittsburgh, PA United States | 06/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I picked out this CD based on an Entertainment Weekly review, and haven't regretted it. My criteria for "good album" is simple: I listen to it non-stop while I'm at work, and if some of the tunes stick in my head, and that's a good thing, then it's a good album."I'm Staying Out" is full of some lovely tunes, and Cary's songwriting is wonderful. Well-produced, this album puts the emphasis on Cary's vocal interpretation and emotional lyrics. This album has some great guest stars doing backup vocals on it, but if you want to listen to those guest stars, check out their solo albums: the focus here is on Cary."Empty Rooms," the first song on the album, is a slower, melodic effort about a woman recovering from a broken marriage. The lyrics poignantly and vividly sketch for us a woman left "with an empty womb, a beautiful house full of empty rooms." The track is one that features Mary Chapin Carpenter on backup vocals, but the emphasis here is on "backup."The second track, "Sleepin' in on Sundays," is one of the better songs on the album. A song for anyone that's ever relaxed a Sunday away with a loved one, the production and melody perfectly recall a lazy Sunday."You Don't Have to Hide" is slightly more upbeat tune, with someone encouraging a lover to open up and stop hiding their pain. Not one of my favorites on the album, but the lyrics definitely recall the uncertainty of opening oneself up in a relationship.The fourth track, "The Next One," is about how lonely we can all be as we search desperately for that special someone. The production and melody vividly sketch the feeling of loneliness. A poignant, slower tune -- Cary does a great job of making us feel the hope: "Maybe the next one will be the best one."The name of "Please Break My Heart" is pretty self-explanatory. The tune is a loping country, and the song is a plea for a lover who just keeps on breaking hearts.I didn't like "Cello Girl" when I first heard it, but it's grown on me, and now it's one of the tunes I'm most stuck on. It's a more upbeat tune, with a heavier rock beat. It's a song about remembering someone, and envisioning what they're doing now. "What -was- her name?" Includes some great sampled cello."Beauty Fades Away" is one of the more beautiful tunes on the album, with a melody that moves around a bit more and that really sticks in your head. The lyrics reflect the fear we all have long-term relationships: "Will you still be the one when beauty fades away?"The title track, "I'm Staying Out," is another more loping alt-country tune that recalls the lure of the night and the vague sadness and worry we feel when we leave someone at home."Lorraine Today" is another more upbeat rock tune, about a mother worried about her daughter and the dubious charms of her daughter's father. Maybe even about the fear a mother has for her daughter when she's about to get married, after her own experience with a bad marriage. Some great backing vocals on this one.The second-to-last track, "In a While," is a slower alt-country tune about disappointed expectations. Another tune that has grown on me -- it's sweet and sad and really sticks with you.The final track, "I Want to Waltz with You," is one of the better tunes on the album. Great tune, wonderful arrangement, and good interpretation. This is a cover of a tune by Peter Holsapple, recorded by the Continental Drifters on their 1999 album.All in all, I'm very impressed with this album, and will be picking up her first full-length album as well. Some of the tunes seem to flow into each other a bit too much, and those looking for "duets" rather than "backup vocals" from big name guest stars are going to be disappointed. But all in all, good production, accomplished singing, great backup singers, and some polished, evocative song-writing."

Very Nice!

J. Sweeney | manchester, mo | 06/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Cary On

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 01/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"She was an integral part of the alt-country band Whiskeytown with her fiddle and backing vocal work, but Caitlin Cary often found herself overshadowed by the band's lead ringmaster Ryan Adams (perhaps our era's Gram Parsons minus Gram's chemical excesses?). Since the band's break-up, Caitlin has managed to step out on her own with solid results. Her 2003 album I'M STAYING OUT is proof of that.



Although recorded in her native North Carolina with veteran alt-country producer Chris Stamey, and featuring backing help from Tift Merritt's band the Carbines and Mary Chapin Carpenter (whom Caitlin occasionally sounds like), I'M STAYING OUT has as much folk, rock, and R&B influences as it does country, with Caitlin's intricate violin work providing a lot of its traditional country base. "Please Break My Heart", its ironic title notwithstanding, frequently sounds like a long-lost Patsy Cline hit; while "You Don't Have To Hide" occasionally evokes the classic country-rock of Linda Ronstadt. It's hard not to note such influences, but that doesn't mean Caitlin is a derivative singer or a mere imitator of legendary artists. Indeed, with Nashville having succumbed to corporate greed and a maniacal obsession with pop crossovers, artists like Caitlin who evoke legends of the past while plowing their own unique ground are sorely needed and very welcome. I'M STAYING OUT is a fine second album for Caitlin, and here's hoping that she has many more great albums like it up her sleeve in the very near future."