"Stones In the Road" is nearly a perfect album. It lulls me to sleep often. I think we all relate to its songs on a deep level. I remember years back when I would first listen to it. By the end of "Shut Up and Kiss Me" I felt like I had just heard a complete and wonderful album. But it goes on, and gets deeper. "The Last Word" is my least favorite song on the album, but maintains Carpenter's flavor and seems to act as an axis from the first to half of the album to the second. Well done, Mary Chapin Carpenter.