304 - Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

[csberry]

When this album came out, it was instantly the CD of the Year according to the "music critics class." Lucinda released an album that embodied the Americana genre that had been brewing underground and gave it a place at the Grammy table that year. For those not familiar with Lucinda, the best description of her sound on Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is that of a country-fied Sheryl Crow with deeper and more descriptive lyrics.

I was in Nashville at the time and my favorite radio station, Lightning 100, was a big supporter of Americana and Lucinda, so I was exposed to a bunch of the tracks. It was easy for me to go out and buy the album. However, as the years progressed, I moved to other cities that didn't have stations of similar adult alternative mix as Lightning 100, this album started to collect dust. After listening to the album a couple of times today, I was reminded of some songs that I had forgotten about, but I also was reminded on why I eventually sold/gifted the CD.

There are some great hooks in some of the songs, but it isn't a collection of hit songs. Lucinda's songwriting is literary, not pop. Although this is one of her most produced and clearly recorded albums, there is no mistaking Lucinda Williams with Sheryl Crow or Bonnie Raitt. But give this album to any woman that grew up on rural America, especially the Deep South, and she is likely to bond with the stories in these songs. The songs didn't make me tap my foot, but it did touch my heart.

Songs I knew I liked: "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" and "2 Cool 2 Be 4-Gotten"

Songs I didn't know but now like: I had forgotten about "Right in Time," "Can't Let Go," and "Joy"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None