West : Lucinda Williams : Review : Rolling Stone

Lucinda Williams today is a different artist from the one whose disgracefully belated commercial breakthrough came with Car Wheels on a Gravel Road in 1998. That Lucinda had released four albums of her own songs on four labels in eighteen years -- all of which, back to 1980's girlish, strummed-acoustic Happy Woman Blues, favored concrete narrative and verse-chorus structures. This Lucinda has released three studio albums plus a redundant live double in six years, all of which tend toward metaphysical abstraction and open-ended incantation. But Williams has cited Bob Dylan's bone-simple Time Out of Mind as an inspiration for 2001's Essence, and even more than 2003's World Without Tears, West is in that mode.

Because Williams is never satisfied, she's brought in producer Hal Willner, a typically well-modulated change from Charlie Sexton, the Dylan guitarist who went for ambience with session players on Essence, and Mark Howard, the Dylan engineer who went for relaxation with her road band on World Without Tears. Beyond Marianne Faithfull's 1987 Strange Weather, Willner's prestige is based on theater pieces and multi-artist tributes to the likes of Weill and Monk, but his subtle arting up of Williams' roots-rock perfectionism will revise that profile. As on World Without Tears, the guitarist is Williams' own Doug Pettibone; as on Essence, the rhythm section is Dylan bassist Tony Garnier and drummer-to-the-stars Jim Keltner. But Willner has mixed in his own posse: jazz atmospherist Bill Frisell, former Tin Hat Trio keyboard whiz Bob Burger and violinist-not-fiddler Jenny Scheinman, whose dark tones lead Williams a big step further away from the blues, especially on "Unsuffer Me," which is intensified by Scheinman's string writing, and "Where Is My Love?" which is freshened by her accompaniment.

There's a catch, however. Borne away on Williams' luscious, cracked drawl, "Unsuffer Me" would work without Scheinman; tethered to the place-name shtick that should have breathed its last on Car Wheels, "Where Is My Love?" doesn't quite work with Scheinman. Car Wheels was Williams' third straight album without a duff song. Even when the melodies flattened out or the performance didn't peak, as will happen, lyrical texture and incident compensated. But since Essence, Williams has been aiming for meaningful songs that heighten generalized, conversational, unliterary language -- and writing them faster. And since Essence, her songcraft has slipped half a notch.

The opener, "Are You Alright?" is one of her greatest songs ever, and exemplifies how powerful the new method can be. Riding a deep, lazy groove and keyed to a title refrain Williams repeats twenty-two times, it employs the commonest words in the language -- all on the order of "Are you sleeping through the night?/Do you have someone to hold you tight?" -- to pound home how totally (and tenderly) you can miss your ex-lover. Or conceivably your mother after she's passed, as the more imagistic "Mama You're Sweet" reminds us. Many of West's tracks are very nearly in this class, including the pained "Unsuffer Me," the vituperative (and, remarkably for Williams, funny) "Come On," the obsessive avant-barnburner "Wrap My Head Around That," and the formal exception "Fancy Funeral," a detailed, practical-advice song Williams wrote after family pressure compelled her to plan and pay for her mom's -- which she ended up not attending.

But then there are the washouts. "I'm learning how to live/Without you in my life"? Or, later, "The mystery and splendor don't thrill me like before/And I can't feel my love anymore"? These aren't intrinsically disastrous lines, though "mystery and splendor" is pushing it; it's possible to imagine Trisha Yearwood or Nanci Griffith covering them. But in neither case does the music put the songs they're in across -- they're dull like nothing on Lucinda Williams or Sweet Old World. Even worse, unfortunately, are the mock metaphysics of "What If," which with its silly conditionals is more regrettable than her former low point, Essence's biblical "Broken Butterflies."

Williams remains a premier artist. But on another keeper here, she worries, "When my words are hiding between the lines/Then I'm afraid they won't hear me call." It must be said in so many words that does happen sometimes -- and that the music doesn't always bail her out.

ROBERT CHRISTGAU

(Posted: Feb 6, 2007)

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Review 1 of 6

3of 5 Stars

I've been a big fan of Ms. Williams' music for a long time now. However, listening to her mostly brings a burning desire to pick her up off the ground, dust her off, and give her a hug. I'm all for introspective, downbeat songcraft, but good lord, put down the candle and spoon and get on an elliptical machine and get those endorphines going a little bit! But Lucinda's worst work is about three times better than most others' best. And it's not that there aren't any upbeat moments here. Come On gets things going a bit, but even that track seems like it's fighting for its energy. I like West, but it won't be in the iPod rotation. Maybe I'll give it another spin if I find out my partner is leaving me, I have cancer, all my money's been stolen, and my cat is missing. That'll put me in the right mood for this album.

Jan 8, 2008 14:36:27

Review 2 of 6

3of 5 Stars

While it is certainly trendy to either bash the hell out of
Williams for not being riske enough and at the same time
hammer her for making songs more accessible; West requires
a little time to age in your iPod or CD player before you
acquire the taste for it.

The opening tune provides great hope as the depression of a
lost lover is balanced by the question "Are You Alright?"
Followed by "I Love you Momma .." & "I'm learning how to live
without you..." leads you to believe this is the string of lovers
gone askew. However, insight into Lucinda's personal life and
the detail in "Fancy Funeral" let's you know she's still
suffering.

However,"Unsuffer Me" and "Come On" are buckshot tunes
that still miss the mark. Noisy and distorted do not equate to
blues. The violin is completely unnecessary in the
arrangement and is like having too much salt in your soup.

"Where is my love"...Lucinda as Etta James and "Rescue", the
song she has used to open sets on the road again provide
hope only to be destroyed by the sillines of "What If" and
"Wrap my Head around That". Closing the album with Words
and West-the best song on the disc makes any Lucinda fan
long for the consistancy and real blues she can deliver.

Jul 15, 2007 10:36:37

Review 3 of 6

2of 5 Stars

“All the magic vanished into the misty air…” sings Lucinda Williams on “Everything Has Changed”, one of many downbeat songs on her latest album, West. And while this seems to be a drastic statement to open a review of the record with, it is at least partially accurate. Despite being called West, the album instead conjures the leisurely pace of the deep south- Williams’ birthplace. The opening track “Are You Alright?” sets the tone, oozing out of the speakers with it’s hymnal hues and Lucinda’s trademark spiked-honey voice. But the resigned stroll of “Mama You Sweet” does not make for an effective second step, and things never really seem to get back on track from there on in. This is not to say that there are no highlights here. “Come On” is a bitter kiss-off to a lousy lover that would even make Jagged Little Pill-era Alanis say “Oh snap!” “Learning How To Live” would have fit well on Williams’ 1998 watershed Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, and “Wrap My Head Around That” is pretty darn funky at times (though it probably doesn’t need to be nine minutes long). Overall, West’s biggest problem seems to be one of pacing. Some of the thirteen songs would work better on a more balanced record- perhaps sandwiched between tracks with a bit more bounce. They could have been interesting rest stops on an album-length road trip, but instead they end up stalling out the whole affair. Better luck next time, Lu.

Rating (1-10):5

(originally posted on www.electriccityr.com)

Mar 8, 2007 11:06:59

Review 4 of 6

Not Rated

good god. i have a splitting headache after reading yet another attrocious review from Christgau. i learned nothing about this record from the review. i would like to check it out, however. Lucinda has made some wonderful music in the past.

Feb 17, 2007 20:13:57

Review 5 of 6

5of 5 Stars

After reading this review, I was prepared for another "Essence"-like album. Instead, she expands on the sound of her last album, "World Without Tears". Actually, it sounds like the depressed sister of WWT. It takes a couple of listens to get inside of "West". Once in, the traits you come to love from Lucinda are revealed. The heartfelt singing, lyrics that cuts deep, and the atmosphere. I think the greatest strength from "Car Wheels" on is that each album is a world of it's own. "West" is a cloudy day that you hope that the sun would shine soon. It does sounds like Bob Dylan "Time Out Of Mind". I think "West" one-up that Dylan's album with a consistent tone, songwriting, singing. Some early favorites from the album: Unsuffer Me, Come On, and Wrap My Head Around That.

One note I would like to make about Barney's review, "Lucinda Williams" and "Sweet Old World" isn't the first 2 albums from Lucinda. It's "Ramblin'" and "Happy Woman Blues". LW and SOW are her 3rd and 4th albums. I would recommend everybody to get those albums as well.

Feb 17, 2007 17:52:51

Review 6 of 6

Not Rated

Lucinda Williams' first two records ("Lucinda Williams", "Sweet Old World") are stone cold classics. Everything since is complete crap. What happened? It's as if she started believing her own press clips and decided she had to write "heavy" songs. The problem is: they suck! She sounds like she's on 'ludes. She should share them with us so we can sit through this garbage! Hey Lucinda: forget the critics and go back to writing real songs; we miss you!

Feb 10, 2007 10:13:00

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