Women of Country - Album Reviews

Album Review

Lucinda Williams
West
Lost Highway Records

Lucinda Williams has been turning out consistently great music since the early 80’s but particularly since her 1998 masterpiece Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. Lucinda has always been known as somewhat of a perfectionist so it was nice to see her musical output pick up after that record. We’ve been treated to a stream of solid records on Lost Highway Records so it was with great interest that I put her newest effort West into my stereo. There is no doubt Williams has earned her title as one of the greatest American songwriters and when you combine that with her deep, rough, one-of-a-kind voice more often than not you have a winner. Unfortunately, in a lot of ways West is a step backwards for the talented artist.

The biggest problem with West is that the songwriting in general is not up to Lucinda’s stellar standards. Nearly half of the albums tracks feature very repetitive songwriting with some subtle variations on the Line 1/Line 2/Repeat Line 1/Repeat Line 2 song structure and it gets tiresome by the end of the record. Many of the songs lack traditional song structure like choruses. The end result is some of the songs feel like poems put to music instead of true songs. Lucinda also just doesn’t seem to connect with many of these songs. Her vocal performances on these trouble tracks seem detached and uninspired. “Where Is My Love” falls victim to being way too repetitive. “What If” is one of the songs which just seems to run on forever with no real direction thanks to the lack of any real song structure. “Mama You Sweet” almost hits Lucinda’s usual standards but there is something missing.

There are some great moments here which still make the record worthy of a purchase. The 9 minute funky, bluesy romp “Around That” is absolutely fantastic. This is the kind of music that only Lucinda Williams can pull off. When she sings (“I know what I think I saw/And what I thought I’d seen/And what was coming and what was going/And everything in between”) you know that she’s still got her songwriting touch. The scorching guitar work and growling vocal performance on “Come On” is classic Williams. The lead single “Are You Alright” is the one instance where the repetitive nature of the song works, it makes the song sound like a plead for someone to open up and let Lucinda in. This is what a good Lucinda slow song sounds like.

Lucinda Williams is consistently one of the most captivating performers in the genre and has been for many years. It’s hard to fault her for the missteps found here. Every artist has an album or two which doesn’t live up to the pedigree of their other work. West is that record for Williams. That said, there are still some truly great moments found here and those alone make West worthy of at least a couple of listens and a purchase. Pick up West to enjoy the few home runs Williams hits and then wait anxiously for the follow up. I know I will be.

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.