The Alluring Lucinda Williams
photo from theboot.com
When it comes to listening to new music or even coming across a new favorite artist, have you ever had that new artist actually be someone you have heard of many times before? Maybe you always knew their name or possibly even a song, but didn’t really take the time to dig further into their music until now? Well for me, that recent artist is Lucinda Williams.
As someone who grew up with country roots and has been listening to country music ever since I was born, I have always heard of Lucinda Williams and even heard a song here and there. However, over the past few weeks, I have found myself absolutely sucked in to her sound and entire collection of work. I am honestly not even sure why it has taken me so long to really give her music a good listen, but boy am I grateful I finally have.
A few weeks ago I came across her song “Fruits of My Labor” and that song completely knocked me on my ass. Seriously, that song is so beautiful and perfectly made that I wanted to just cry at how wonderful it is, and if you know me, I am NOT a big crier. While I do know that “Fruits of My Labor” is one of her most popular songs, I am still shocked that it took me this long to fall in love with it. I think I may have heard it many years ago but possibly was just to young and distracted to really pay attention. Anyway, since falling in love with that song, I have made sure to really dig into her discography and see what more I have been missing all these years.
Louisiana born and being the daughter of a poet and professor father and pianist mother made for the perfect scenario for Lucinda’s talent to blossom. Writing her lyrics with the heart of a true poet pared with her delightful Louisiana drawl and raspy vocals makes her music reach down and really grab at your soul, creating the ideal feel for blues and Americana music. While I am a huge sucker for a raspy voice, Lucinda’s voice differs from that of Janis Joplin’s by the way it seems to take its time rolling off the tongue. In the song I mentioned earlier, “Fruits of My Labor”, the harmonica seems to almost mirror her vocals, creating a nice paring.
Much like her vocals, her career in music also seemed to take its time before she really began to reach a level of real stardom. She showed interest in music and song writing when she was a child and began playing gigs in Austin and Houston in her early 20s until she made her way to Mississippi where she recorded her first album, Ramblin’ on My Mind in 1979. She followed that release with another album in 1980 titled Happy Woman Blues. However, neither of these albums received much recognition. Her third album, self titled, Lucinda Williams, was released in 1988 and received successful recognition and has since been sighted as an important album in the Americana movement. Following the success of her third album, she released her fourth album, Sweet Old World in 1992, which features themes surrounding death.
In 1998 she released the album that is considered her breakthrough into the mainstream music scene, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. With this release, she received a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album, as well as a spot on Rolling Stone’s 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list as number 98. Following the major success of that album, Lucinda spent the early 2000s cranking out albums in 2001, 2003, 2007, and 2008 while continuing to experiment with her sound. The 2010s were similar to the 2000s with Lucinda putting out 5 albums in one decade, for which she continued to receive critical acclaim. Her most recent album was released in April of 2020 titled Good Souls Better Angels, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album and a Grammy Nomination for Best Americana Roots Song for the track “Man Without a Soul” from that album.
Although her career took a little more time to get the recognition it deserved, Lucinda continued to stay true to herself and create real and honest music. What I noticed when digging deeper into her music and just learning more about her as a whole, is that it seems like many folks had similar experiences to mine with discovering her music. It almost seems like once someone hears her music at first they think “hmm alright, not bad” but then the moment they give it a second listen a spark is lit to where they cannot get enough of her. Some would maybe even describe her music as an acquired taste. The best way I can describe the fascination with her sound is that it truly is the most marvelous mix of blues, Americana, Southern Rock, and country music with deep raspy vocals that add a grit that only she can deliver.
Her song writing is real, raw, and leaves no room for doubt that she is singing from the heart. I can seriously feel her heart and emotions in the songs she sings where I just know she really went through what she is singing about. She exudes a sort of “take no shit” energy that also has a humble and shy side to it, and a bit of a rough around the edges vibe that is charming in all the best ways. I think another reason that her music is so addicting is how seamless she blends these different genres to the point that you can’t really label her music under one genre. One moment you are listening to a song with some classic country roots, the next you feel the southern blues deep in your soul, and soon after you are rocking to edgy lyrics with a phenomenal guitar riff. I also want to point out another talent of hers that goes a bit unnoticed is how well she finds band members to perfectly accompany her sound. She truly has an ear for music and while being backed by different bands throughout her career, pretty much every record has an outstanding group of musicians complementing her every word.
Since digging into Lucinda’s discography and really getting to know her music, I have felt the full range of emotions from heartache to wanting to kick down a door and take shit from no one. Her music may have been a bit of a slow burn for me but I’m absolutely on fire now. Her combination of raspy vocals, edgy attitude, blending of all my favorite genres, and a vibe that just lets you know she is the real deal has put Lucinda up on my list of all time favorite artists.
Whether you have tried to give Lucinda Williams a listen or if you’ve never even heard of her, go ahead and give her music a go but I am telling you, give it a second listen if you are not too convinced and you will really understand the allure.
Thanks for reading!
