Amazon.com
Though the arrangements stray from Lucinda Williams's motherlode blend of blues, country, and folk, West may well be her best album. It is easily her most musically adventurous, and often her most lyrically inspired. Williams's singing has never sounded better, from the aching tenderness of "Where Is My Love?" to the ravaged catharsis of "Unsuffer Me." New York producer Hal Willner, who has worked with artists such as Marianne Faithful and Lou Reed, enlists the support of eclectic progressives like guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Bob Burger, and violinist Jenny Scheinman, along with harmonies from the Jayhawks' Gary Louris, to weave a subtly rich sonic tapestry. Much of the material was inspired by the death of Williams's beloved mother ("Mama You Sweet," "Fancy Funeral") and the bitter breakup of a relationship (the jagged-edged emasculation of "Come On," the repetitive incantation of "Wrap My Head Around That"), though "Are You Alright?," "Learning How to Live," and "Everything Has Changed" could reflect the aftermath of both. Other highlights include "Rescue," with a languid subtlety and ambient pulse reminiscent of Beth Orton, and the dreamy, wistful title track. Where Williams's music has long cut close to the bone, the best of
West slices right through it.
--Don McLeese Lucinda Wiliams Photos More Lucinda Williams 
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road | 
World Without Tears | 
Essence |
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(182 customer reviews) 63 of 64 people found the following review helpful
A bluesy mix with a note of hope and redemption.,
March 2, 2007 joemacktheknife (East Hampton, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: West (Audio CD)
It may only be March but I have to say that this is going to be one of my records of the year.
Lucinda Williams has always been a peerless songwriter.She writes about lust, love, and losslike nobody else, and on this album, co-produced with Hal Wilner, she takes on such subjects as her mother's death, the state of the world, and yet another tumultuous relationship which ended badly. It's her usual tough stuff, but this time, Lucinda sneaks in a note of hope and even redemption in the very bluesy mix.
The album's 13 songs together form a largely down-tempo disc, but "West" doesn't only find Williams in a somber mood.
"Mama You Sweet" is upbeat and "Come On" is a nasty, almost raunchy kiss-off, musically akin to "Atonement" from her last album, 2003's "World Without Tears".
She injects doses of hope and light in tracks like "What If", in which she imagines a world where the president wears pink and a prostitute is a queen.
There are...Read more
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
So intense.,
February 21, 2007 Esthero - See all my reviews
This review is from: West (Audio CD)
"West" is Lucinda's eighth studio album and simply quite brilliant. Nobody does that low-down dirty country blues like Lucinda, locking into a languid, aching groove and sending shivers down the spine of any living thing within range of that earthy vibrato.
Not that she is interested in staying within some country comfort zone, "Wrap My Head Around That" straying into uncharted territory.
It is not the first time she has slowed a lyric to spoken level, but this is a rhythmic bona fide country rap epic, a compelling narrative over nine minutes long, punctuated by snarling guitar chops and solos.
"Words" is another wise old tale written on that cracked parchment of a voice, wafting over an intoxicating melody.
She quotes her father, literature and poetry professor Miller Williams on West's sleeve notes: "You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone", and these songs are a product of an internal turmoil...Read more
130 of 152 people found the following review helpful
Everything Has Changed,
February 17, 2007 Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: West (Audio CD)
On August 10, 2005 Lucinda Williams played at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. It was the last live concert that my wife and I saw together. Lucinda was touring in support of "Live @ the Fillmore" & said she was writing songs for a new record. As I recall, she played a new song she said she'd recently written, "Everything Has Changed." I preordered Lucinda's "West" set while my wife was still here. Today marks the fourth week since breast cancer ripped a giant unfillable hole in my universe. Lucinda lost her mother; and so themes of adjustment to loss not only resonate with me, they punctuate every breath I take. I spin the CD & Lucinda's gentle aching voice comes on, "Are you alight?" When people ask me that, I want to say, "He*l no!" But when she sings, "All of a sudden you went away; I hope you come back around someday; I haven't seen you in a real long time; Could you give me some kind of sign? Are you alright? ...Cause I've been feeling a little scared," it...Read more
