Lucinda Williams (1 Viewer)

[Dave Poehlman]

I just heard her song "Joy" on the radio the other day and I love it. Are there any fans out there that could recommend some of her stuff?

 

[Scott DeToffol]

Buy everthing!
Actually, start with Car Wheels on a Gravel Road which has "Joy", then her epinomimous album Lucinda Williams. Then try her newest effort Essence.
She is easily one of the best songwriters working today. And if you ever get a chance, make sure to see Lucinda live - she rocks!

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Thanks Scott, I'm ordering Car Wheels right now!

 

[MarcVH]

Scott, thanks for the suggestion; she's on tour and I'm seeing her live on Saturday.
I'd agree that Car Wheels is the best place to start; I like Essence (particularly the title track) but it doesn't quite have the same feel.
Not sure whether you enjoy her most as a songwriter or a performer; if the latter, her performance on the Kate Wolf tribute of Here In California is worth buying the the CD IMHO.
By the way, I'm curious, where did you hear her on the radio/what kind of station? She's well-known for not getting a lot of airplay, and I've only ever heard her on NPR.

 

[Rob P S]

I love Car Wheels, but I think Sweet Old World is even better.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

By the way, I'm curious, where did you hear her on the radio/what kind of station? She's well-known for not getting a lot of airplay, and I've only ever heard her on NPR.

It was NPR.. the "world cafe" I think. Actually, not to get too off topic here, I am so tired of commercial radio that I listen to a lot of NPR and the local college station. So, my musical tastes have become kind of eclectic.

 

[MarcVH]

Yeah, most commercial radio has fallen to the point where becoming a "vast wasteland" would be an improvement.

I first heard her on NPR as well ("Lake Charles"); searching for her name on npr.org reveals a fair amount of interesting content.

She's supposedly coming out with a new album later this year; I just hope I can actually listen to it (i.e. it does not have Universal's copy-protection BS.)

 

[Ryan Ab]

I've got her last 2 albums and saw her opening concert for the last tour.

I saw her on either the today show or gma doing the way you move song. I was cracking up to hear her sing "lie on my back and moan at the ceiling" at 8:00 am morning tv.

--Ryan

 

[Scott H]

As Scott said, everything.

In addition to the three albums he notes, there is also:

Sweet Old World

Passionate Kisses (EP)

Happy Woman Blues

Ramblin' On My Mind

np: Beulah

 

[John Fleming]

Yes,
Lucinda Williams is one very talented songwriter and she and her band put on a great show. Marc, hope you enjoyed her concert as much as we did and just soaked in the many subtle nuances of her songs. My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing her with a band fairly recently in Raleigh, NC - it was the best show we've seen in years. Like many very talented artists (Bonnie Raitt comes to mind in this respect), she surrounds herself with exceptional musicians. For instance, one of the guitarists on her recent tour was Bo Ramsey who is an awesome talent himself.
Rob, I may have to agree with your point regarding 'Sweet Old World'...great tunes, especially the title cut and 'Little Angel, Little Brother' - man, that song almost brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it.
I would highly recommend Lucinda Williams' music to anyone who enjoys listening to non-mainstream stuff. If much of what you hear on FM and AM is the music equivalent of "junk food", music by artists such as Lucinda is "health food", as it has substance...fiber, if you will
John

 

[MarcVH]

Thanks for the wishes, John. The show was good; opening was Australian Anne McCue, performing solo and getting things warmed up nicely.
Lucinda then performed for close to 2 hours, including two encores, with no intermission. Well, actually the rest of the band did get a break while she did a solo rendition of Passionate Kisses. Most of the material was off the most recent 3 albums.
Her image for this tour is a bit different from how I've seen her elsewhere -- wild, disheveled hair, a low-cut navel-revealing top and leather pants. Not bad by any means, just not what I would have guessed. Anyway, I mainly came to her her voice directly, and I wasn't disappointed.
The only minus came midway; she apparently lost her place in her notes, causing her to miss a cue at the opening of a song while flipping pages. No big deal, the band just loops a few measures and comes back to it, but shortly thereafter some jerk in the audience yells "Come back when you're sober!" Part of the territory, I guess, but I don't know that I would have blamed her if she just walked off the stage.

 

[BrettB]

My wife saw the CMT show Crossroads a while back with Lucinda Williams paired up with Elvis Costello. Unfortunately I never got a chance to see it. It really made an impression on her so I did a little research and we got Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.
We don't buy very many CDs so for our next purchase which would you say is most similar to Car Wheels...? Sweet Old World? If her other stuff is as good as Car Wheels... we'll probably end up getting it all eventually.
Also, does anyone have any information (release date) on her next CD?

 

[John Watson]

I've only heard her in a duet on a Jimmie Dale Gilmore album; but if you can know musicians by the company they keep, I'd say she's good, and will consider the above recommendations too.

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

Also, does anyone have any information (release date) on her next CD?

There was only a gap of, what, three years between Car Wheels and Essence, right? Lightning fast time according to her pace. I haven't heard anything, but she is notorious for taking a long time between album releases.

 

[MarcVH]

Her web site claims it's due out "in 2002" and has 10 songs, but isn't any more specific than that. When she was touring she wasn't playing songs from it yet.

 

[Emmett Maguire]

I picked up Car Wheels the other day and I am enjoying in thoroughly. Highly recommended.

Regards

Emmett