The Ghosts of Highway 20

My God, how can Lucinda Williams just get better and better? This may be her best release ever, certainly since "Essence," or "World Without Tears." This is a double disc, an always risky undertaking, but I found myself wanting even more. I have listened to this many, many times over and I can't find a "weak" track. Even though a quick listen could lead one to believe that this is a "mellow" album. But then there are the lyrics and song titles. Lucinda begins this effort with, "Dust", which may be the most powerful song of disgust and disenchantment with a lover. "Even your tears are dust," she sings. Wow! A simple sentence that puts a dagger in the heart of the object of her disdain. Another example where just the title tells you she is not making a "happy-go-lucky" type of album is the morbid/gruesome "If My Love Could Kill." The title says it all. As I said, there is not a weak track on here. But make no mistake, this is Lucinda at her taciturn, low key, down in the blues best. She sings the words in a manner that may seem laconic, but there is no doubt she means every sharp cutting word and phrase. This album may well stand as one of her best and most memorable efforts. Her lyrics make it clear that she is a woman who has seen it all, survived it all, been knocked down and gotten back up, as witnessed by the closing track on disc two, "Faith and Grace." A word has to be said about the musicians and the arrangements which combine to create a mood that makes it seem that the lights were out in the studio, and that no matter how many lights are on when you listen to this gorgeous set, the room seems to darken. I have listened to it in my room with only moonlight and reflected streetlights for illumination, and that seemed just right. I want to mention along these same lines that the economic but perfectly placed use of dissonance is true artistry. This album represents one of those times when an artist and her band are just in their own world and just killing it. I could not recommend "The Ghosts of Highway 20" any more highly. It is a must have, and is in the running for my best album of the year.

OK. I've never reviewed an album purchase here on Amazon but this album is so damn good I have to give some quick feedback. I've followed Lucinda Williams from her Essence album, forward. I mean, that's when I became aware of her as an artist, but her earlier work is also excellent. None of it quite resembles or prepares your for this particular album, which is strung together with these sort of psychedelic guitar harmonies flowing around in the background like currents in a slow Southern river. Her songwriting has always been excellent and it's no exception here. She's returned a bit to her stripped down vocals, relying on interesting lyrical reputations like before. It's completely different from her last album, even though it's recorded with many of the same band as this from what I understand (Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone). That album is far more mainstream than this one. This one takes a bit of work, or a bit of drink or smoke. But the mood that settles in is unbelievable. Like nothing you've heard before.

I am a big Lu fan. I have all her albums and have seen her many times in concert. Her classic album Car Wheels On A Dirt Road set the bar high. Fans often compare every knew album she releases to that gem. And that's understandable. There is some great music here but again it isn't her strongest album . I don't think there are any songs that should have been culled and I love having a double cd release. Her new guitarist has some really interesting tones and licks that really spice up the songs. Her rhythm section is awesome as always. I love it when they get that gospel swampy blues groove happening. Listen to this to learn the songs then go see the band live because these songs really open up onstage. This is not the cd I would start out a newbie with...you know that would be Car Wheels !! But for fans of Lu this is another good cd for your collection.

While Lucinda's latest offering might take a walk on the dark side,it is hauntingly beautiful.The lyrics are infused with that heart wrenching Southern fatalism that can be traced to the Delta blues.The music alternates between stark acoustic to an almost hypnotic electric blues."Dust" and the title track are evocative and stunning.The subject matter and theme of this CD invoke a journey into the sins of the past and the pain of tragic loss,hell hounds on the trail. But through the dark journey among those ghosts,redemption may be found.Lucinda has always known how to paint a portrait of loss and the pain it brings in the listener's heart and mind. While the roads she choses to go down on this CD are as dark and haunting as a bayou swamp,it is a journey well worth taking. As a previous review noted,this CD is the perfect companion to a glass of bourbon and a warm Summer night on the deck.

As someone who fell in love with Lucinda during the Car Wheels period, and has stuck through every recording, I am very happy to say this is a return to the old Lucinda. Nasty gut-wrenching blues with dirty guitar from the master Bill Frisell (it's as much his album as it is her's), the record is quite possibly her best since Essence. And it honestly sounds nothing like her last two, especially from a production standpoint, i.e. no over-production. It sounds live and sweaty and a little drunk. It'll make you want to sit out on the back porch with a bottle of bourbon, cranking the stereo up loud. She might not take your blues away, but at least you've got someone cool to drink with. So damn good!

TODO GENIAL +++++

Questo album è semplicemente un capolavoro. La sensazione persistente che mi evoca, ogni volta che ascolto queste canzoni, è quello di tanti "fantasmi" sonori di un sogno americano infranto. E questa atmosfera sia la voce della Williams che i suoi testi ed arrangiamenti la evocano alla perfezione. Un grande disco da annoverare nei capolavori della musica americana dell'ultimo decennio.

あくまで、相対評価ですが♪ sweet old world ★★ gravel road ★★★★★ essence ★★★ world without tears ★★ west ★★★★ little honey ★★ blessed ★★★ down where ★★★★★ gohst of highway 21 ★★★★★ ただし、little honey＋blessed÷2＝ ★★★★ 他のアーティストとは比べられません。

Schon seit über 20 Jahren bin ich ein großer Fan von Lucinda Williams und habe mir im Laufe der Zeit alles, was auf CD und DVD von ihr erhältlich ist zugelegt. So auch dieses aktuelle Doppelalbum, auf dem sie Geschichten rund um den Highway 20 erzählt. Auf beiden Scheiben präsentiert uns Frau Williams hier wieder 14 tolle Songs. 12 davon stammen mit Text und Musik von ihr selbst. Bei „House Of Earth“ schrieb sie die Musik zu einem Text von Altmeister Woody Guthrie. Einzig das Stück „Factory“ stammt von Bruce Springsteen. Und zwar von dessen 1978er Album „Darkness on the Edge of Town“. Erfreulich finde ich, dass die Songs überwiegend eine entspannte Länge haben und nicht charttauglich zurecht geschnippelt wurden. So ist „If There‘s A Heaven“ mit einer Spieldauer von 3:34 der mit Abstand kürzeste Song auf den CDs. „Faith & Grace“ dagegen mit 12:44 der Längste. Alle Songs sind sauber aufgenommen und die CD klingt hervorragend. Auch die Gitarrenarbeit von Greg Leisz und Bill Frisell ist, wie könnte es auch anders sein, tadellos. Das trifft natürlich auf den Beitrag aller, an dem Projekt beteiligten Musiker zu. Hier gibt es keine Schwächen. Und dann natürlich Lucinda William‘s Stimme! Mit einem enormen Ausdrucksvermögen, das von empfindsam verletzlich über lasziv erotisch bis hin zu wütendem Protest reicht. Einfach fabelhaft. Lucinda Williams hat im Laufe ihrer langen Karriere viele hervorragende Alben herausgebracht. Dies ist eines ihrer besten.

Quel bijou, un autre superbe opus par la grande dame du blues country alternatif, Lucinda Williams. J'avais été moins conquise par son album précédent, Down where the meets the bone, ayant aussi remarqué que la prononciation était défaillante, un peu pâteuse, qui m'avait ennuyée par son manque de précision. Peux-être son meilleur CD, quoique West, Car wheels on a gravel road, Essence et Blessed sont franchement incroyables.