Skeptics might say that Carpenter's smash version of Lucinda Williams's Passionate Kisses pales beside the tougher original, or that Mary Chapin is but a folkie in poor-fitting country clothes. They're not exactly wrong, but her million-selling third album finds its charm in a spare Americana sound and smart, imaginative material. Carpenter bridges country and folk audiences, much as Emmylou Harris has done, and as few others have managed. And she's a better singer than generally recognized. Originals such as I Am a Town and the title cut are genuinely evocative, and Walking Through Fire and I Take My Chances have an emotional edge that is as raw as it has been rare on country radio in the '90s.