Mary Chapin Carpenter's lyrics captivate Utahns

MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER and GARRISON STARR, Red Butte Garden Amphitheater, Aug. 1

Country songstress Mary Chapin Carpenter had a tumultuous couple of years between the release of 2007's top 10 album, "The Calling," and "The Age of Miracles" that came out this spring.

While on tour in support of "The Calling" three years ago, Carpenter suffered a pulmonary embolism that could have easily ended her life. While it did lead to the cancellation of the rest of the shows scheduled that spring and summer, she has made a full recovery, been busy in the studio and was in fine form for her Red Butte Garden amphitheater show on Sunday evening.

While Carpenter has made lyrical ability a keystone of her success — five Grammys, including an album of the year, numerous No. 1 singles and over 12 million albums sold since her recording debut in 1987 — her latest project reflects an even sharper focus on the words behind her music.

Carpenter leaned heavily on material from the new record Sunday, and even kicked off the show with the opening track from that album, "We Traveled So Far."

She carried the opening bars of the tune on stage, alone with her guitar while band members took their spots, one at a time, bringing the song to its full bloom in time for the chorus. Carpenter leaves little doubt as to whether a brush with the abyss has made her more reflective. One lyric from that number, "I found myself wondering today/why do some go and some stay."

The comfortably large crowd gathered in the sticky but fading heat took, surprisingly, a little warming up, but eventually were on their feet for their favorite tunes, including Carpenter's hit 1992 Lucinda Williams cover, "Passionate Kisses."

While Carpenter's latest songcraft leans on sharp and resonating word imagery, music from earlier in her career still stood out as the strongest material Sunday, and those earlier pieces got the best crowd response.

"Why Walk When You Can Fly," from her 1994 No. 1 record, "Stones In The Road," lets the mandolin and piano take a turn carrying the melody with Carpenter's deeply mellow voice to great effect. Another track from that record, "Shut Up And Kiss Me," a song that not only reached No. 1 on the country charts but crossover success on Billboard's Hot 100, continues to be a pleaser for Carpenter's fans.