release date: Feb. 13, 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,75]
producer: Hal Willner & Lucinda Williams
label: Lost Highway - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Are You Alright?" - 2. "Mama You Sweet" - 3. "Learning How to Live" - 4. "Fancy Funeral" - 5. "Unsuffer Me" - 7. "Come On" - 8. "Where Is My Love?" - 10. "What If" - 12. "Words" - 13. "West"
8th studio album by Lucinda Williams follows nearly 4 full years after World Without Tears (Apr. 2003). which appears to have been a time of collaborative works and a period of personal turmoil with the loss of her mother and a broken long-term relationship setting some of the tones for these 13 new songs all credited Williams. The album has a total running time of nearly 79 minutes, which naturally makes it a double album on vinyl issues.
Williams continue her song material with songs about the naked personal stories, with a balance towards harder times exploring struggles and life challenging experiences. With 'pain' as a central motif this is everything laid out open. It's a kind of a pond from where she finds her inspiration, and when going through personal crisis, she really makes her songs shine. It's basically sad, but it appears to be her driving force and some kind of therapy. I hope. Musically, these are ballads, angry songs, and songs filled to the brim with sorrow and apin but there's often a glimpse of hope and positive things in her songs - despite dealing with heavy emotions, and if not explicitly found in the lyrics, there's nearly always a warmth, or a comforting presence in the music, which makes it the more tolerable.
West is the so far best-charting album by Lucinda Williams in the US peaking at number #14 on Billboard 200. In imo it's challenging Car Wheels on Gravel Road as the best from Lucinda Williams and therefore a highly recommended album.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5, 😲The Guardian 5 / 5, 😖Pitchfork 3,5 / 10
