Mary Chapin Carpenter’s latest album, Songs from the Movie, has a familiar sound that her fans love.

It’s her old songs.

But with a significant, and cinematic sounding, twist.

The latest album is a collection of 10 Mary Chapin Carpenter songs that have been hit-makers and fan favorites for years, and now her fans can enjoy them in an entirely new setting and feel.

“The albums I’ve made throughout my career have been like concept albums,” Mary Chapin Carpenter revealed to The Hartford Courant.

She added, “My albums have always had songs that had those connections. It was good to do something different. It was a fascinating process, revisiting what I had recorded before and taking them to another place. It was a healthy exercise. A lot of recording artists revamp their songs when they tour. This was just taking it one step further. I knew ‘Time Stands Still’ would be on this album. Then I just went on from there. But from there I think I made up a list of 40 or so songs.”

Sounds like an amazing experience for her! Mary Chapin Carpenter collaborated with composer and arranger Vince Mendoza on her new album and was incredibly impressed with what he did to make her old songs new again.

“It was incredibly emotional,” Mary Chapin Carpenter said.

She added, “I didn’t expect that. It was an amazing thing to hear these songs in such a different way. I thought about why and how music hits you emotionally, how it tugs at your heart. Vince’s arrangements really hit me hard. I was really moved.”

Mary Chapin Carpenter isn’t the first songwriter to work with Mendoza. He is also responsible for polishing up songs for recording artists like Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and even Bjork.

Congratulations to Mary Chapin Carpenter on her new album!