Accessories

Over-rated, but I love the way she sings
A couple of good songs, but all in all a bit too squared off. Not much imagination, roots music doesn't have to be so dry. I was drawn to her by her appearance at the Gram Parson Tribute concert. When she has great songs to sing she is really fine.

The Lucinda I fell for years ago
I used to own this album when it first came out, it was my first taste of Lucinda Williams. At the time, I loved all the hits (title track, Too Kool 2 B Forgotton, etc). Now, I've grown tired of those songs and when purchasing and listening to this album again, it is her other songs on it that captivate me. I would say there is not one song on this album that isn't great. I know that some of her other work is fairly sad, or dark, but this one is not. If you like anything you have heard from Lucinda Williams, you'll love this album!

Can't I give it more than five stars?
An American masterpiece. It is that simple. If you are only going to buy one Lucinda album, this is the one for you. As great as her self-titled album was, this is better. A flawless gem, one of those albums that can change your life.

"Love Hangover"
`Car Wheels on a Gravel Road' is properly titled for its sound and content. Featuring breathy, but spirited vocals, Lucinda Williams reminds one slightly of Janis Joplin on her near-acapella song "Mercedes Benz". Having plenty to say about breaking up with her boyfriend(s), her cyclical, twangy honky-tonk songs of regret come off as both sad and exhilarating despite the bitterness. Only on her truly scathing "Joy" does she take aim at her significant other at full force. Otherwise, she's just sad and lonely, recovering from her own little love hangover.

Recollecting the joys of her recent, truncated past, "Right in Time" jump starts a truly consistent and heartfelt outing. The title track follows with all kinds of elicited memories. We can truly smell the bacon and eggs cooking as someone drives up the road and all the rough rocks of childhood and love interests come home to roost. "Concrete and Barbed Wire" finds the spare imagery of a wordsmith who gives us the bottom line of love's alienation. Heartache and punctuated accompaniment complement one another on the excellent "Can't Let Go". In the same wavelength, "Lake Charles" transports one to the time and place when love went right with a song that broods quietly with properly understated musicianship. "Greenville" takes us less serenely to a honky tonk bar scene with details of love turned to violence or rancor. "Metal Firecracker" is perhaps the saddest song of this fine batch. Recalling the vehicle of transported love, she exhorts her ex-lover, "Don't tell anybody the secrets/I told you." Surely, trust is at stake. How could anyone not relate to a tale of vulnerability gone to separation after intimacy.

Hooked on it since my purchase, Lucinda Williams has a winner with `Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'. Gritty with recollection, lyrical sensibilities, and vocal prowess, Williams spares us little--especially her talent.

Amazing Lyrics
I ordered this cd specifically for the song "Drunken Angel". It has to be some of the best lyrics written, it makes you feel the heartache and wonder how anyone could write that without actually living through it. The rest of the cd is equally as spectacular. It is an emotion filled cd, with wonderful vocals and music. I would recommend this cd to many people, even if you do not particually care for country music.