★★★★★
Williams' second collection oforiginal material, originallyreleased in 1988 andcommonly known as "TheRough Trade Album", afterthe label that released it inthe UK, has been out of printfor more than a decade. Itsreturn is to be celebrated, not just for the bonus discof a previously unavailablelive show, but because itillustrates the formation ofa blueprint (tough country-rock,literate confessionallyrics) that would serveWilliams well for the nextquarter century.
- recordcollectormag.com
2014-01-30
★★★★★
Truly great albums might go in and out of print - this one was unavailable for 10 years - but they seldom go out of style. Lucinda Williams released two blues-heavy efforts before this, but this self-titled album, released on UK indie Rough Trade in 1988, began her journey to becoming a household name. In a newly remastered 2-disc edition,
- www.austinchronicle.com
2014-01-24
★★★★★
It took singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams eight years to get out her third album, a self-titled affair on the Rough Trade label that featured mostly original songs. But it was worth the wait. Lucinda Williams from 1988 was the kind of recording that makes an impact: other musicians loved it, with Mary Chapin Carpenter rerecording "Passionate Kisses" to huge acclaim, Tom Petty covering "Changed the Locks", and Emmylou Harris taking on "Crescent City"...
- www.popmatters.com
2014-01-19
★★★★★
Tweet Nostalgic Country Gold Lucinda Williams has picked up one of country music's biggest cult followings since her 1988 eponymous third album. She has supported the likes of Bob Dylan on tour, while other industry greats, such as Tom Petty, have celebrated her music with covers. She is a noted country music great, whose work is praised by fellow musicians and critics alike...
- www.mxdwn.com
2014-01-19
★★★★★
A pioneer of Americana ... Lucinda Williams. Photograph: Greg Allen
Rough Trade Records was home for post-punk bands such as the Smiths, but in 1988 the London indie label released a self-titled album by the Louisiana-born Lucinda Williams, in a move that gave country music - and the new hybrid style, Americana - its biggest boost among British rock audiences since Joe Ely toured with the Clash...
- www.theguardian.com
2014-01-17
★★★★★
It's fitting that Lucinda Williams' 1988 LP was initially released by England's Rough Trade, home to the Smiths and the Raincoats - it deserves as much credit as any album for spearheading the so-called Americana movement, country's post-punk equivalent. Finally back in print, every song burns hot as ever: the indie jangle-twang of "Passionate Kisses" (which won a Country Song of the Year Grammy via Mary Chapin Carpenter's inferior version), the incandescent sexiness of "Like a Rose," and "The...
- www.rollingstone.com
2014-01-14
★★★★★
This 1988 classic was Lucinda Williams' third album, but it might as well have been her debut. The self-titled set put her on the singer/songwriter map with near unanimous critical acclaim as she captured the essence of her influences in blues, folk, Cajun and country, distilling them into 11 magnificent originals and one significant cover. This 25th anniversary reissue returns the archetypal recording back into print (after being unavailable for a decade)...
- www.americansongwriter.com
2014-01-07
★★★★★
In the time between the West-Little Honey-era and Blessed, a lot has changed in Lucinda Williams's world. After a tumultuous period marked by her mother's death and a turbulent end to a lengthy relationship, the alt-country songwriter has found herself in a much better and more serene place. Williams has married, rekindled a longtime love of collaboration and has entered another prime songwriting run. Most importantly, however, Lucinda Williams appears happy...
- www.americansongwriter.com
2013-04-25
★★★★★
Considering the years between previous releases, Essence shot out like a bullet. Though her hand may always be on the trigger, Williams takes her time taking aim. On this round she explores how it feels to be lonesome, heartbroken, addicted, homesick, longing, and raging with desire. So while in theme not all that much has changed since 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, this record is a lot more laid back and euphonious without trading in her raw lyricism...
- www.plume-noire.com
2013-04-01