Lucinda Williams

Every year we are flooded with reissues of "classic" albums that weren't classic to begin with and still in print in one form or another. To top it off, many of these reissues sound worse than the original release. Well this reissue doesn't fall prey to any of those trappings. Lucinda's "Rough Trade Album" (which is the way fans refer to the original release) was lauded upon it's release, cherished by fans/critics alike and long out of print (due to record label bankruptcy). So it was a perfect candidate for a reissue...too bad none of major labels agree, so Lucinda had to reissue it herself...and do it right she did...everything about this reissue is perfect....it comes in a classy digipack with new artwork and liner notes...it's been remastered to perfection...has some bonus tracks...and a complete concert from the time period....to top it off, LP freaks are treated to a gatefold cover and red vinyl!...and she even had the good sense to include a digital download card of both the album and the bonus concert....more importantly, it doesn't hurt that this album was a classic the day it came out and hasn't lost one bit of it's charm since...it actually sounds more like a Lucinda anthology than any of her other albums as it includes traces of her many styles...which makes this the perfect Lucinda album for newbies and a treasure for long time fans. Great job Lucinda!

Singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams had two acoustic folk blues albums for Folkways Records under her belt when the staunchly indie rock label Rough Trade offered her a chance to record a full band album. The resulting self titled LP has been in and out of print over the years, finally getting the deluxe two-CD treatment which includes a remastered version of the original album and a disc of live material. The music on the original album is uniformly excellent, as she melds together roots rock, blues and country into a seamless gumbo, and has an excellent backing band to boot. “I Just Want to See You So Bad” sets the pace of the album with yearning country rocker that is miles away from the poseurs in today’s Nashville. A scalding spiteful rocker “Changed the Locks” sows her lyrics tumbling end over end in a thrilling fashion. There’s a nice cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “I Asked For Water” with Williams purring the lyrics in a menacing fashion. The flip-side is “Passionate Kisses” which is the poppiest and most radio-friendly track on the album. Years later she would win a Grammy for this album in the best country song category after Mary Chapin Carpenter recorded it in the mid-1990’s.The second disc is made up of live material from the period, consisting of a well recorded show from the Netherlands and some performances at radio stations. There’s nothing revelatory here, but the live tracks reinforce the power of Williams vocals and songwriting. There is an excellent booklet of liner notes included which talk about the making of the album and Williams’ career.

I discovered Lucinda Williams' music quite by accident. While the credits of a film I had just watched were rolling, I was pulled out of my state of emotional revery by the bluesy, intriguingly inverted lyrics of a song that was playing. Missing the musical credits for the film, I attempted to track down the song later, erroneously thinking that it had been Bonnie Raitt singing. Eventually, I discovered it had been Lucinda Williams, singing the title track from "World Without Tears" that I had heard. I bought that album, and later, "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road" and a DVD copy of her performance in the late nineties on the Austin City Limits television program. Williams is a brilliant lyricist and songwriter. This album "Lucinda Williams" is an earlier product from her career and shows a stronger Country and Western influence than her later work, but is marked by her typically engaging, articulate, storytelling lyrical style, catchy melodic hooks and propulsive rhythms. The recording is crisp with a sitting-right-in-front-of-the-band perspective.

Perhaps she is widely praised because even average singers with grating voices and limited vocabularies can identify with her songs. Her voice and styling are unique though so I'll give her that.Perhaps there are many listeners, largely female I suspect, who can emotionally resonate with the messages of the songs. These are neither profound nor poetic.The music accompaniment is so-so, about the level of a good garage band.Listen to the snippets before you buy is my advice.

I first heard Lucinda belatedly. I bought a "used" promo tape containing the same 3 songs on both sides. That was the mid to later 1990's and one of the songs was Passionate Kisses. Thought that was a great song but the tape and the other two songs have left my mind and my collection. That one song was enough for me to eagerly await her upcoming ( yet oft delayed) release of Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, which by the way should be in your collection. At that point, I was only looking prospectively at her music.While I eventually picked up 1992's Sweet Old World, I paid no attention to this even earlier release. Until now, and even so I was probably caught more by the inclusion of the 1989 live performance than the studio disc. As it turned out, the live disc is okay (it contains 10 songs from the studio release that to me aren't as good live) but the studio lp has knocked me over. I love it. Her originals, especially Passionate Kisses and Changed the Locks are awesome and how can anyone not love the inclusion of a Howlin' Wolf song - - -I Asked for Water.This is every bit the lp that Car Wheels is and if you a more recent fan of Lucinda, pick up this album and Car Wheels. You'll find you're discovering her best work; not that the later releases are shabby.