Lucinda Williams – Good Souls Better Angels (Highway 20/ Thirty Tigers)

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Lucinda Williams checks in with her 14th studio album…12 songs full of anger, resentment and soul.

In a career that began in the late 1970s, Williams has never been so forthright in her lyrics as she is on songs such as Man Without A Soul, Wakin’ Up and Bone Of Contention.

Clearly not a fan of Trump, Lucinda lays it on the line with Man Without A Soul. Without naming names, she lets loose with scathing lines such as, “You’re a man without truth, a man of greed and hate. A man of envy and doubt, a man without a soul”.

William’s ire isn’t all directed at politics. There are some more personal issues addressed as well.

Wakin’ Up is about an abusive relationship with harrowing lyrics such as, “I should have split, thought I could fix it. He pulled the kitchen chair out from under me. He pulled my hair and then he pissed on me. Next thing, I swear, he wants a kiss on me”.

Pretty heavy stuff.

Fortunately Lucinda has a band that can stand up to her snarling vocals. She’s always had killer guitarists…Gurf Morlix, Bo Ramsey, Doug Pettibone and now, Stuart Mathis. Also along for the ride is bassist David Sutton and drummer Butch Norton.

The band cranks up some dirty blues on opening number You Can’t Ride Me and they really cook during Bone Of Contention  and Down Past The Bottom.

While the overall vibe is somewhat dark, things lighten up, surprisingly, during When The Way Gets Dark as Williams sings, “Don’t give up, its gonna be alright. You’re gonna be OK”.

The album has a tendency to become weighted down in the middle thanks to slower tunes such as Pray The Devil and Shadows And Doubts, keeping it from being a complete success. But when the band kicks in for the final four tunes as Lucinda rails against “liars, losers, cheaters and thieves” one can’t help but get caught up in the passion of her voice and the sound of Mathis’ guitar.

Marty Duda

Marty Duda
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