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[cylsrecords]

The first review of the @camptrashfl is in! @dryvetyme of the @beardedgmusic states, '"The Long Way, The Slow Way" is a pristine distillation of catchy punky emo.' Read and excerpt above and the whole at the @beardedgmusic site. TLWTSW comes out TOMORROW! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! #CampTrash #TheLongWayTheSlowWay #BeardedGentlemen #MuiscReview #CYLS #CountYourLuckyStars https://www.instagram.com/p/CfceGJ0JumX/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[musiccurator15]

The Magic of Lucinda Williams

I know what most people are saying. Who the heck is Lucinda Williams? Well, I will give you a second to look her up. She just happens to be one of the best folk/blues/roots rock female singers. Her peers are artists like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Guy Clark and John Prine. Not a bad list to be a part of.

Williams has released 12 essential albums in a 39-year span. If you are a Mary Chapin Carpenter fan, you might have heard of Lucinda Williams because she wrote Mary Chapin Carpenter’s biggest hit, “Passionate Kisses.” Tom Petty released a cover of Williams’ song “Change the Locks” for the soundtrack of She’s the One.

Lucinda Williams didn’t make it big overnight. In fact, it would 19 years between her debut album Ramblin and her breakout album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. In that period she released three albums, Happy Woman Blues, Lucinda Williams, and Sweet Old World, all of which are solid albums. My favorite songs from the Lucinda Williams and Sweet Old World albums are “I Just Wanna See You So Bad,” “Changed the Locks,” “Passionate Kisses,””Sweet Old World, “He Never Got Enough Love” and “Sidewalks of the City.”

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road tracks are ideally placed. A couple standouts from the record are “Jackson,” “Greenville,” “Lake Charles” and “Still I Long for Your Kiss.”

Williams released Essence in 2001. Although it is a great album, I only connected to a couple tracks, including “Steal Your Love,” “Blue” and “Get Right with God.” This was one of my least favorite albums of hers, just because it’s so depressing. A common theme in her music to say the least, but she usually has some uplifting songs in her albums; however, this one did not.

Her next album was  World Without Tears. I mean this album is Lucinda Williams at her finest. Even though the material is heavy, her voice delivers the somber lyrics with a certain kind bluesy perfection that only Lucinda Williams has. That whole album is perfection. Like seriously, if I were going to write about my favorite songs on the record, I would be listing them all. Here is a link to the album on Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/album/7uLuuklEzDu7xZ8QazIfzu?si=hUl5_T7eRD-rYeulwJEhRw.

Williams returned from a four-year hiatus with West, an ode to her mother who had just passed away.  Some of my favorite tracks include “Are You Alright?” “Fancy Funeral” and “Unsuffer Me.” A well-rounded effort, with Williams’ voice shiny the way it should.

Although I love her voice, just like every artist, Williams does have a couple albums that I don’t care for. One of them is Little Honey. Personally, I felt like it just didn’t mesh as well as her other albums, all through a good record, of course, considering I am talking about Lucinda Williams.

Her next album Blessed is a great album. The title track is my favorite. It talks about the imperfections everyone has. She reveals a more romantic side in “Copenhagen” and her humanitarian side in “Born to be Loved.”

Her two most recent albums are Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone and The Ghost of Highway 20. Both remind me of what I loved about her late 80′s- early 2000's, top-notch lyrics and amazing vocals. Her voice is more bluesy than it was at the beginning of her career, as shown n “Compassion,” “Dust,” “Protection,” and my favorite of her new tracks, “Foolishness.”

To say that Lucinda Williams is underrated would be one of the biggest mistakes that you could ever make. Sure, she isn’t as mainstream as I wish that she was, but she has an impressive following. I think her disconnect from popular culture is one of my favorite aspects about her, her unique and deep, raspy voice. It might take you a while to understand why I love her so much, but give her a couple of chances. If you are new to her music, I would suggest listening to her eponymously named album Lucinda Williams and then of course World Without Tears, which is hands down on my top three Lucinda Williams albums list.

Enjoy!