Lucinda Williams Lucinda Williams Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road 2024

Lucinda has been darn busy since recovering from her 2020 stroke. During 2021/2022 she released six Lu's Jukebox recordings of cover sets featuring an individual artist or a thematic thread. All six were recorded live in studio during Covid days. I discussed them all here. Then last year she came out with Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart, a solid outing that compared favorably with her recent work.

And now comes Lu's Jukebox In Studio Concert Series Vol. 7. Covering the Beatles is pretty ballsy, but hey, she did a good job on the Rolling Stones on Vol. 6. This time, and for the first time in the Lu's Jukebox series, she has her core touring band with her, and they are smoking hot. David Sutton bass and Butch Norton drums are as good as any rhythm section. The guitars of Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford are tremendous. Richard Causon organ and Siobhan Kennedy background vocals make generous and talented contributions. 

Not everything works, but most of it does. Song selection is mostly good but a few don't seem to be right for Lucinda. Don't Let Me Down opens the record, and why not - it's perfect for her. With hot organ and guitars, it's a great version. Next, I'm Looking Through You starts with just guitar and vocals, and then Bam!, it rocks out. Nice quick tempo, and more of Causon's fine B3 work. Can't Buy Me Love seems an odd choice, but an interesting guitar break and good backup vocals from Pettibone and Kennedy help a bunch. A better fit, Rain is a pretty straight cover, but it misses the studio effects of the original. Then the guitar monster of While My Guitar Gently Weeps comes, and Lu and the boys tear it up. The guitar interplay is great, Pettibone and Ford rock it hard. The dirge-like Let It Be follows, and it's a pretty straight cover that's almost saved by the guitars. 

Side two kicks off with Yer Blues, another great fit for Lucinda's voice and attitude, with lots of reverb on her vocal, and it is big stomping blues. I've Got A Feeling holds true to the original, and the guitars and organ stand out again. After that I'm So Tired should be the perfect fit, and it is. Something is taken a little fast, and it's good, but it could be anybody's version. There's a million versions of this lovely Harrison song, but none better the original. Lucinda does a melancholy take on With A Little Help From My Friends, and surprisingly it works. Big hot arena guitar rock doesn't hurt. To close the record, they do The Long and Winding Road, a little fast again, and while the band is super, Lucinda's vocal seems almost perfunctory, which is odd.

Twelve songs, three that are a bit weak or odd choices, five that are must-hear excellent, and none of it at all bad. I can't say enough about Pettibone and Ford, they are consistently great. Butch Norton is also stellar all the time. Not surprisingly, Lennon's songs work better for Lucinda than Paul's, but the odd or less ideal choices are all Paul songs. The more times I listen to it, the better it gets. For a Beatles cover record from an artist that would never be the first person you'd think would cover Beatles songs and do it well, she and the band pull it off. A late arrival for the best of 2024.