The Calling is Carpenter’s second co-production with pianist Matt Rollings. The pair had initially worked together on Carpenter’s 2004 disc, Between Here and Gone, which also marked the first time Carpenter actually recorded in a Nashville studio, despite such country chart staples as “I Feel Lucky,” “Shut Up and Kiss Me” and “Down at the Twist and Shout.” (When “He Thinks He'll Keep Her” was nominated in 1995 for Record of the Year, it was the second time in Grammy history that a nomination in this category had gone to a country artist.)

On The Calling, as in previous recordings, Carpenter confidently crosses boundaries of genre, incorporating elements of folk and rock as well as country into the mix. The Central Virginia-based Carpenter returned to Nashville last year to record The Calling and assembled many of the same players from the Between Here and Gone sessions, along with veteran engineer Chuck Ainlay, the long-standing right-hand man to Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits.

“I wanted to work with Matt Rollings and Chuck Ainley again.” Carpenter says. “It was enormously inspiring to be among all the players; I got to work with [legendary session percussionist] Russ Kunkel for the first time. Every drum hit was like the voice of God to me. To be in his presence was just extraordinary. There was a wonderful atmosphere in the studio in terms of everybody throwing in their own opinions. That’s the key component: Everyone feels like they have a voice, and that gives me a lot of confidence.”