Women of Country - Album Reviews

Album Review

Lucinda Williams
Live @ The Fillmore
Lost Highway Records

Lucinda Williams is undeniably one of the most talented songwriters of her generation and her rough around the edges vocal style suits the material she writes perfectly. It’s been a productive couple of years with the release of Essence and World Without Tears where Lucinda further cemented her spot as one of the forces to be reckoned with in the alt-country realm. Now it’s time for Lucinda to tackle the live album concept and she does so in style with Live @ The Fillmore recorded at the legendary San Francisco, California venue. This is a solid two CD collection of tunes which effectively summarizes Lucinda’s music to date.

Live @ The Fillmore features some of the strangest pacing I’ve heard in a concert. Many artists open with a bang to get the crowd into it, mellow out towards the middle of a set, and then rev it up for the end of the show. Lucinda takes a completely different approach starting off on a mellow note with rock solid renditions of “Ventura” and “Reason to Cry”. “Fruits of My Labor” is as exceptional here as it is on World Without Tears. In fact, much of the first disc wanders along at this leisurely pace with Lucinda working her way through many of her softer tunes.

Then things take a turn with Williams and her band cranking out some extremely solid rocked up versions of songs like “Change The Locks”, Atonement”, and “I Lost It” towards the middle of the set. Even the older song “Pineola” makes an appearance here. The highlight of the album comes in the form of “Righteously” which features some absolutely screaming guitar riffs and another solid vocal performance. “Joy” and “Real Life Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings” round out this portion of the show.

The album then slows back down again for the remainder of the set giving Williams the opportunity to break out “Those Three Days” which is one of the best examples of Lucinda’s dark songwriting style and others like the title track from her last studio album.

Live albums are always hard to pull off. It’s difficult to strike the right balance of songs and give longtime fans something they haven’t heard already. Live @ The Fillmore could have been even better with a few more songs from older Lucinda records but as it stands this is an album jam packed with powerhouse performances from a confident singer/songwriter and a rock solid backing band. Lucinda has another winner on her hands and when the last seconds roll off of Live @ The Fillmore you can’t help but wonder when Lucinda is going to be making her way around a town near you.

Album Review by Jeff Krasky

The WOC Rating Scale

The album stands above the rest. This is a record that every country music fan needs to have in their collection.

This album is better than the average release. A strong record with some flaws that keep it from reaching that 5 star level.

This album is an average country release. Doesn't posses qualities that make it stand out among all the other albums out there.

A weak record that lacks solid songs or good vocal performances. Sample before you buy.

This record is a bargin-bin reject that just isn't worth the time or the money. Completely misses the mark.