Party Doll and Other Favorites (1999)

Mary Chapin Carpenter takes a typically offbeat approach to her hits album, mixing proven chart-toppers, live renditions, overlooked gems, and new offerings for a 17-track set, named Party Doll and Other Favorites, after her cover of a Mick Jagger song. Of the new tunes, ''Almost Home,'' in which she takes stock of a life lived and comes up short, scores the highest at marrying lyrical introspection and rhythmic yearning, one of the benchmarks of her graceful, if circuitous, career. A