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.

Lucinda Williams Lu's Jukebox Six Releases 2021-2022

From October through December 2020 during Covid lockdown, Lucinda Williams performed a series of live in the studio sets for streaming, with proceeds going to music venues financially hit by closed doors. She ended up doing six of them altogether, and each night was a themed concert featuring cover versions. CDs of the performances were released in 2021 and 2022. The idea is certainly cool, and Lucinda most likely drew a good deal of ticketed streaming. I'll take them in the order they were released.

Lu's Jukebox Vol. 1 – Runnin' Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty is a pretty good show, and Williams clearly loves the Southern connection she shares with Petty, and hits on quite a few of his Southern themed songs. Lucinda sounds great, and the band is solid. Rebels, Runnin' Down A Dream, Louisiana Rain, I Won't Back Down, and You Know How It Feels are highlights, but there are none of his early rockers that I love, so it's not the set I would have wished for. And no Magnolia? You may like it more than I did.

Lu's Jukebox Vol. 2 – Southern Soul: From Memphis to Muscle Shoals is a great set that plays to Lucinda's strengths. There's not a misstep anywhere. Ode To Billie Joe, I Can't Stand The Rain, It Tears Me Up, Rainy Night In Georgia, all have Williams digging deep into her soulful delivery. Games People Play, Take Me To The River, and Williams' own Still I Long For Your Kiss are also highlights, but every song is a winner. If I had to pick just one of these Jukebox releases, this is the one.

Lu's Jukebox Vol. 3 – Bob's Back Pages: A Night of Bob Dylan Songs isn't the thrill it seems like it should have been. I can't really pinpoint why it was a disappointment for me, but it was. Song selection wasn't always great, and even some of the ones that sound like a great idea for Lucinda were just not that exciting. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry was my favorite, but not much else wowed me.

Lu's Jukebox Vol. 4 – Funny How Time Slips Away: A Night of 60's Country Classics seems like a great idea, especially after the success of Vol. 2. I can't say I was thrilled with the song selection, and the band, with too much pedal steel guitar, sounds like a cover band from anywhere. Lucinda sings most of it well, but even Night Life, Long Black Limousine, Gentile On My Mind, and the title track are just not great deliveries.

Lu's Jukebox Vol. 5 – Have Yourself a Rockin' Little Christmas with Lucinda is a huge letdown. Not really a surprise when the artist is known for material ranging from melancholy to downright sad (and occasionally bitterness) but a letdown all the same. Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin' is fun, and a few others should be, but Lucinda's delivery just doesn't have the lighthearted positivity that these songs beg for.

Lu's Jukebox Vol. 6 – You Are Cordially Invited...A Tribute to the Rolling Stones ends the series on a high note. She sticks to the great sixties/early seventies material the band is famous for, and anger is a very good match for her voice. And the band rocks. Early songs Satisfaction, The Last Time, Get Off My Cloud, Paint It Black are great. Street Fighting Man, You Gotta Move, Sway, and You Can't Always Get What You Want rock hard and Lucinda tears 'em up.

Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol.6 are recommended. You may like the others more than I did, but only if you think she can do no wrong, or maybe if you just can't get enough Dylan.

Favorite Live Shows

I've seen plenty of great shows, and I am going to fail to remember them all here. But these have left a lasting enough impression that, well, I still remember. There are many that didn't make this list, and I want to give kudos to Sal over at Burning Wood for bringing the topic up. One of my friends is going to call me and say "What?! You didn't include ________!"  Trust me, I just can't remember them all. I saw NRBQ, but it was after Big Al left. I saw Van Morrison and the Kinks put on weak shows that I wanted so much to love. Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson, Eric Clapton, Boz Scaggs (2 or 3 times), Trisha Yearwood, Robert Palmer, Dwight Yoakam, and many others, all entertained me. But when it comes to that mix of great performance, great vibe, and great timing, these might be my favorite shows:

The Band 1970 Cleveland Music Hall
I was 15 years old. I already loved The Band. My father drove my girlfriend and I to downtown Cleveland to see the show. They were between The Band and Stage Fright albums. They were incredible. No warm-up act. They came out and played two sets, about two hours total. The only time they said much other than "Thank You" at all was when Robbie introduced Lookout Cleveland and said he was thinking of us. I think he meant Cleveland, Tennessee all along, but that didn't matter.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 1973 John Carrol University Fieldhouse
The John Carrol Fieldhouse was a pretty big basketball arena by Jesuit college standards. Bruce was about to release The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, and the band on the back of that record jacket was the band I saw. Vinnie Lopez might not have been what Bruce wanted, but this band kicked butt that night for sure. And Springsteen was the only guitar player, he was super-hot, and they played for three hours, and totally rocked the crap out of the place. They got tighter, and maybe more professional, as a band, but they never got wilder.

Sons of Champlin, The Tubes, 1975 Some small outdoor amphitheater, San Diego, CA
So back in 1969 my older brother sent me and my middle brother seven albums for Christmas. Go ahead, divide seven by two. And do it with adolescent males. Anyway, one of those records was the Sons of Champlin debut, Loosen Up Naturally. I've loved the Sons ever since. In 1975, after finishing school, I road-tripped to California and while visiting a high school buddy in San Diego, I visited a record store. I found the recently self-released Sons of Champlin album (on Gold Mine records, which would later be reissued by Areola) and when I bought the album, the guy behind the register said, "Hey, dude, are you going to see them tonight?" Right then I bought tickets even though the guy I was staying with had to work that night. He went to work. I went and saw the Sons. Champlin, Haggerty, and Palmer were all spectacular. I was surprised, but I liked the Tubes, too.

It really seems like there should be something else between 1975 and 1979. How odd.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Rubinoos, 1979, The Agora Ballroom
Costello was doing This Year's Model and some of Armed Forces and the debut. Oh My God. 75 minutes of full steam ahead Costello and the Attractions. Not more than 30 seconds between songs, and no talk at all. The Rubinoos were playful and charming in the opening slot. They did I Think Were Alone Now and Sugar, Sugar.

Talking Heads 1983 Blossom Music Center
It was the big suit tour, which was made into the movie and album Stop Making Sense. It was very much worth seeing live. The concept was very cool, with David Byrne doing Psycho Killer solo with a beat box, then Tina Weymouth came on for Heaven, and it kept building until there were 10-12 people on stage. Burning down the house indeed.

Ahmad Jamal, 1990? The Purple Onion, Toronto
I went to Toronto to take my wife to see The Phantom of the Opera. The night before (or after?) we went to see Ahmad Jamal at the Purple Onion jazz club. I was mesmerized by Ahmad Jamal's trio. Such an amazing piano player. We sat at the bar about fifteen feet from Jamal, and we could see his hands on the keyboard. Breathtaking.

The Subdudes, 1986? Peabody's Down Under
If you ever have a chance to see the Subdudes, they put on a great show. Peabody's was relatively small, and they rocked it. Their soulful Louisiana funk was a unique. Tommy Malone was a triple-threat singer, songwriter and guitarist. Steve Amedée's tambourine replaced a drum kit way better than it should have.

The Neville Brothers, 1980s, Tipitina's, New Orleans

The Neville Brothers played Tipitina's most Fridays in the 80s, and were scheduled the Friday we arrived, but then the show was cancelled as they were opening for someone on tour. The vacation was already planned, so I went with disappointment in mind. Sitting in a bar I told the bartender the story, and he said that the tour show cancelled and they were playing that night. We went early and held our ground right in front of the stage for many hours through the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, until the Nevilles started about 11:30. They were still playing when we went outside for air at 3:30. It was a super hot night and a super hot show. 

Don Dixon and Marti Jones, 1986-88?, The Empire
The Empire was a less than great venue in Cleveland, but this was when they were trying pretty hard to break Marti Jones. The band included Jim Brock and Jaime Hoover, and they were so incredibly tight. One of my favorite live recordings of all time is Marti's Live From Spirit Square, and this show was all of that, albeit on an considerably earlier tour.

Lucinda Williams, 2001 The Odeon
There is no need to exclude sentimental favorites. My soon-to-be-wife and I saw Lucinda touring behind Essence. Lucinda and the band were smokin' hot. The definition of sultry. I'm sure there were people that went home talking about the way we danced.

Proclaimers, 2008 Beechland Ballroom
They had the full band with them, and they are just such great songwriters and singers and so much good fun. Rock that doesn't mind the pop. And delivered with verve. My friend Bob was aghast that not everyone was dancing! I've seen several other fine shows at the Beechland. It's a great room when the sound is right.

Lucinda Williams Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone 2014

I'm a pretty big fan of Lucinda Williams and have followed her work throughout her career. Her Car Wheels On A Gravel Road is one of the best Folk/Rock/Americana records ever made, and a high water mark for her. She followed that with the somewhat softer Essence 2001 and the impressive A World Without Tears 2003.

If there's a complaint to be made of her work since the turn of the century, it is that her records include too many slow songs. Her lyric writing has never dipped far, but the languidity of her recent work on West 2007 (the worst offender), Little Honey 2008, and Blessed 2011 was just a bit too much. All of them include the occasional rocker, but the rockers aren't always up to par, and there aren't enough of them. The slow stuff is good, and she has fabulous instrumental backing, including long-time guitarist Doug Pettibone, as well as Bill Frissell and Greg Leisz (two of the best atmospheric guitarist anywhere). But there are a lot of slow tunes.

So now here comes a new, two-CD set. To say I was apprehensive is an understatement, because two CDs of her slow introspection sounded like a bad idea. But what we get this time has more energy than any of her releases since Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, and that (and a mess of great songs) makes this the best record she's made in a long time. Not only that, Lucinda is happily in love, and there are even some upbeat sentiments on the table (a rarity in her work). Break-ups and misery have always made for fine songs, but it certainly isn't necessary.

Protection, Burning Bridges, East Side Of Town, West Memphis, Foolishness, Stand Right By Each Other, Walk On, and Everything But The Truth are all mid-tempo at least, and we have a nice balance of rockers, blues, and quieter material. A nine-minute cover of J.J. Cale's Magnolia ends the record in a magnificently deep slow groove, presenting some downright gorgeous guitar interplay.

If, like me, you've been a bit disappointed in Ms. William's recent work, the wait is over. At 61, Lucinda Williams has made her best recording in years.

Perfect (or near perfect)

It's not very often that a record is perfect. What's perfect? You can listen to every song, and enjoy every song. The performance, songwriting, singing and production make a cohesive whole, a record that is of itself and unlike quite anything else (except maybe one of the other records on this list). There aren't too many of these for me, and many of them are from the sixties and seventies. I tried to stay a little more current with this list.

Many of these records are rockers. This first list is the rockers. Fast and furious, hot guitars, tight band, great songs. Often the best effort by the artist or band, these are the only reason the rest of their work is a little disappointing.

The Proclaimers Persevere 2001

Matthew Sweet Girlfriend 1991

Semisonic The Great Divide 1996

John Mellencamp Whenever We Wanted 1991

Sloan Between The Bridges 1999

The BoDeans Home 1999

Tom Caufield Long Distance Calling 1987

The Connells Still Life 1998

Gomez Split The Difference 2004

John Hiatt Bring The Family 1987

Del Amitri Some Other Sucker's Parade 1997




The rest of these are less rockers and more something else; blues, country, folk, mellower rock, and in one case too eclectic to be any one of those categories. But they are no less perfect, with every track a winner.

Dwight Yoakam This Time 1993

Boz Scaggs Come On Home 1997

Lucinda Williams Car Wheels On A Gravel Road 1998

Erin McKeown We Will Become Like Birds 2005

5 Chinese Brothers Let's Kill Saturday Night 1997

Freedy Johnson This Perfect World 1994

The Jayhawks Hollywood Town Hall 1992

Al Kooper Black Coffee 2005

Shelby Lynne I Am Shelby Lynne 1998

Kirsty MacColl Titanic Days 1993

Lucinda Williams Live at Nautica Stage Cleveland July 17, 2011

A hot steamy night in Cleveland. With the Cuyahoga river behind her Lucinda gave a pretty fine performance.

The show started fairly slowly, with Lucinda and band playing some fine versions of slower material with nice feeling and solid jams. In fact I thought this was the best part of the show, the band interplay and the slow grind of many of these songs, and Lucinda's most poignant vocals. They started cooking a little harder near the end, but if you don't like her languid stuff you're going to want for more.

The set was rich in great songwriting, of course, with Blue, Drunken Angel, Joy, 2 Cool 2 Be 4-Gotten, World Without Tears (slow and smoking hot!), Honey Bee (hard rocking near the show's end), and Essence, which she did twice. The first time through, her voice cracked into a cough, and the band jammed out the song to it's end. Near the end of the show Lucinda called for a second take, and they burned the house down with Essence's slow smolder. 

The new record  was represented by Buttercup, Born To Be Loved, and Blessed, and all three were excellent. She went back to her early work for a hard-rockin' version of Changed The Locks, and it was nice to have a little angry Lucinda in the mix. I think she did Fruits Of My Labor. They did a knock-out version of Steven Still's For What It's Worth during the encore. Everything was really quite fine, with Lucinda's singing a highlight throughout.

The bass of David Sutton and drums of Butch Norton were tight and both players were locked in. Norton was outstanding. Val McCallum's guitar was mostly perfect, but he seemed to lose his way a few times.

Amos Lee opened the show, and brought a skilled band with him to flesh out his laid-back material. I'm not familiar with his work or material, but he and the band were up to the task. They were enjoyable.

Lucinda's putting on a fine show, and the tour is coming to your town. Go. Listen. Enjoy.

Lucinda Williams Blessed 2011

A new Lucinda Williams record is always welcome news around my place. This one qualifies, no suspense necessary. Is it Car Wheels On A Gravel Road? No, and nothing else is either. Not by Lucinda, not by anybody. If that's your yardstick, nothing will measure up.

Lucinda Williams is first a lyricist (and the lyrical content of this record is exemplary- as good as it gets), second a singer (and the close-miked, up front sound of her ragged rasp is perfect), and third a songwriter (and mostly this is a solid effort, although additional melody or at least pace could have helped a few songs).

The production by Don Was, Eric Lijestrand, and Thomas Overby, is ideally suited to Lucinda. Lots of atmosphere, beautiful, slowly emerging arrangements, and that up-front-in-the-mix vocal work to wonderful effect. The band is way beyond highly skilled. The bass and drums of David Sutton and Butch Norton lay down a solid foundation on which the twin lead guitars of Greg Leisz and Val McCallum bounce and spin and rock and generally do all the things that two great guitarist can do when they seem to be playing with one highly developed brain. Add to that Rami Jaffe's organ, piano, and accordion flourishes that are spot on every time, and you've got one smoking hot ensemble.

Buttercup is a bitter rocker, a story of a bad man who hardly deserves to find a mate. Lucinda sneers "Good luck finding your buttercup" in the chorus, and it's easy to hear where she's coming from. I Don't Know How You're Living is one of those deeply emotional lyrics that Lucinda does better than anyone. Raw. Pure. Beautiful and pained. Copenhagen is a lonely, airy ballad of loss that benefits from the phenomenal band.

Born To Be Loved is a slow, repetitive trance of a song that sounds like a lyric that Lucinda has been trying to write for years. The loud angry rocker Seeing Black is another strong lyric strapped to a typical Williams melody that is saved by the big southern rock twin-guitar lead break. It's also one of only two real rocking songs on the record, and that's an important point. Track five of twelve and the energy never gets this high again. It's not a bad thing, but it might have helped to have one more upbeat tune to keep things moving. It's a minor gripe.

Soldier's Song is a heavy anti-war song of the most personal kind. A lyrical tour-de-force, alternating lines between a soldier's actions and those of his "baby" at home to an Essence-like trance, the song is intensely moving. On the heels of that, Blessed weaves slow gospel blues with another exceptional lyric, and two-guitar interplay rocks out the ending. Sweet Love follows, and it's a great lyric hung on a slow balled that deserved a better melody and a quicker pace. Another melodic underachiever, Ugly Truth, follows, and it's an OK country tune, and again a strong lyric. Convince Me is a slowing building rocker, and a lovely plea for security. Elvis Costello guests on guitar to unusually good effect, and Jaffe's organ is killer.

Awakening is another slow start that develops into a scronky twin guitar cooker. It's again a little weak in the melody department and is barely saved by the fine band's embellishments. Killer lyric, though. The record ends with Kiss Like Your Kiss, a slow, sad, painful wisp of a song that could have been another Passionate Kisses with a different, more up-tempo arrangement.

When I first heard it, I felt that Essence lacked energy, and yet I find myself more captivated by that 2001 classic every time I hear it today ten years later. This one might be alot like that. There is so much fine, really incredible lyrical depth here, the band are amazingly talented, and William's expressive voice is in fine form. There may be too many slower songs, but they're very fine slow songs.

When Williams sings "Please, please, please, convince me", you can hear her need, and that's the raw, unprotected power you can't find many places these days.