Lucinda Williams.... it is hard to listen to ANY Lucinda Williams CD without marveling that she has not stuck a gun in her mouth. The daughter of Arkansa Poet Laureate Miller Williams (not that artsy southern people and their kin ever kill themselves) Lucinda has been writing what is simply some of the most heartfelt, painfully sung music of my lifetime. She is not a pretty lady. She has been hurt by men and hurt by life. She has serious questions about God... but she knows her way around a hook and a melody and her voice is about the most “real” thing I have had the pleasure of hearing live.
Williams had a tough early career starting in 1979 and 1980 with “Ramblin” and “Happy Woman Blues”. These CD’s show the rudiments of her style and showcase her voice but the booze and cigarrettes had not accomplished all of their magic yet. It was not till 8 years later when she released “Lucinda Williams” that some critic began to talk and her recording on “Change The Locks” (an old Silos tune which is simply pne of the BEST break up songs ever) that anything more then critics began to take notice. They say her breakthrough came in 1998 with the BRILLIANT (capital B) “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” but I (and there is no one more important then me) would patiently (sort of) explain to you that the earlier “Sweet Old World” was really the the CD that put her on every critics list. (and I would be right...again.) “Sweet Old World” was 1992 and “Car Wheels” 1998. One thing she has never been is prolific. In 2001 she put out “Essence” which was for me a foregettable step backwards until hammering another one over the fence with 2003’s “Worl Without Tears”. Now only 4 years later she gives us “West”.
I am a fan. I generally do not review, listen to, or think about any musician (even one I just pick up) without being a fan. Williams songs are all deeply caring about her characters. Many of them seem to be to friends along the way, a lot to men who have wandered in and out of her life. She is not an angry chick, just a weathered one who never seems to learn that men...are just men. “Are You Alright” kicks it off in fine style. The first line, “Are you alright, all of a sudden you went away...” finishing with “Are you alright, cause I need to hear from you,” tell you everything you need to know. But the nice thing about Williams is she loves her characters and she loves that they have been in her life and might come back. The second song...”Mama You Sweet” is sweet. Send it on a mix tape to mom on Mothers day so everyone knows how cool you are. “Learning How To Live” might be a fill for “Are You Alright”. The 4th song “Fancy Funeral” will likely be popular but is a simple ode tonot spending money on a funeral but instead spending it on stuff now and making beautiful but cheap goodbyes. Next is “Unseffer Me” and for me it is the CD’s stopper. She is asking...begging for her lover to make it right. She does this a lot but simply...no one does it better. “Everything has changed” leaves her emotionally dead after another break up. “Come On”...a break up song starts with “Dude Iam So Over You”. I do not know how you feel about these songs as a woman but as a man I wish I could inspire this kind of angst in any woman. “Where Is My Love” is just a voice song...”Is my love in Helena eating sweet potato pie?” Kurt Cobain could not have gotten away with this but with her...it feels good even with the occasionally trite chorus. The next song “Rescue” seems to be that lesson that she can sing about but never learn...”He can’t rescure you, he can’t pull the demons from your head”. Indeed. “What If” is a pretty and politcal ballad. “Wrap My Head Around That” is... you will not believe this...a break up song. It kicks up the artistry a little more though. She has always had a song or two on each CD that through odd pacing and purcussion just...seem to glow (Like “Hot Blood” from “Sweet Old World”). it almost feels like a Lou Reed rap. “Words” is a tribute to the comfort of writing and “West” is a commercial for the California Board of Tourism with a nod to the folks in New Mexico and Arizona as well.
This is out on the “Lost Highways” imprint which is Universals noble but ultimately stupid effort to have a pretentious alt-country, indie label to give it some credibility in that market. They have some great artist but a lot of it is forced...this is not. She put together some good musicians for this one. Doug Pettibone is a pretty guitar player and Jim Keltner has been “drummer for the stars” since i have been listening to music. She throws in the classic Bill Frisell and adds Gary Louris (Jayhawks) for some background vocals and it is all just...pretty. This is a good CD. It has been long awaited like all her CD’s so it is critically acclaimed. She just has so much talent and so much angst and that...that voice. You get the feeling on every CD that there is just so much crazy shit going on her head every day that it really must be hard just dealing every day.
One of the great things about a new CD from Lucinda is the chance you get to go back into the catalogue and look at what she has done. Although not prolific it is a solid body of work. In that regard I give this only 7 out of 10 Sliders. Also as a new feature I am providing....since I do go back and review the whole catalogue, a new feature and that is the artists essentail iTunes composite which you can go download. That is why I am here. Here goes:
1. Change The Locks
2. Steal Your Love
3. Get Right With God
4. Passionate Kisses
5. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
6. Six Blocks Away
7. Right In Time
8. Unsuffer Me
9. Are You Alright
10. Bleeding Fingers
11. Fruits of My Labor
12. Those Three Days
13. Pineola
14. Hot Blooded
That would not be a bad 14 bucks to spend.
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