***1/2 Mary Chapin Carpenter

PARTY DOLL AND OTHER FAVORITES

(Columbia)

If Mary Chapin Carpenter had never gone to Nashville, she'd be a better-than-average New England folkie writing sensitive relationship songs. But she learned to wrap her lyrical smarts around the country-singles formula -- in short, she went commercial, and her music is the better for it. The best of her singles -- "I Feel Lucky," "The Hard Way," "I Take My Chances" -- are as literate as they are radio-friendly, and it's a pleasure to hear from grown-up, respectable characters who like to drink and mess around now and then.

This compilation might be considered a one-disc boxed set, fleshing out the hits with live tracks and rarities, including the title track, which is a surprisingly effective remake from one of Mick Jagger's failed solo albums. Her breakthrough hit is one of her few missteps: Lucinda Williams's "Passionate Kisses" needs more sensuality than she gives it. But Carpenter reached a creative peak with 1995's existential break-up album, Stones in the Road, and that sensibility is maintained with the new original, "Almost Home" -- whose key line ("There's no such thing as no regrets, but baby it's alright") is about as double-edged as they come.

-- Brett Milano