LITTLE HONEY

Lucinda Williams: Little Honey
[Lost Highway]
By Holly George-Warren on October 13, 2008

Paste Rating: 92 phenomenal

Lucinda Williams has a great laugh—it’s a joyful sound to hear on the aptly titled Little Honey, the 10th album in her three-decade career. A sweet sense of renewal imbues Williams’ latest work, which encompasses all the elements of her eclectic catalog—from her stark early sets Ramblin’ (1979) and Happy Woman Blues (1980) to her 1988 self-titled breakthrough to last year’s textural West, co-produced with Hal Willner (Lou Reed, Bill Frisell). But not since her masterpiece, 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, has Williams dug so deep and come up with an album that brims with such varied, impeccable writing. Aided by loose-limbed playing from her band Buick 6, some notable party guests, and a voice full of everything from righteous gusto to hard-won wisdom, Little Honey is Lucinda Williams at her best.

A sharp contrast to the studied tapestry of sound and embittered lyrics of West, Little Honey finds Williams in celebratory mode, with raucous rock, bluesy testimonies and tongue-in-cheek twang. Her brooding introspection—found here on a handful of moody tone poems and mournful ballads—adds depth to the proceedings. A decade ago, the Louisiana-born Williams proffered that her best work was borne of emotional crises and the ensuing solitude—exactly the circumstances surrounding West, which examined a harrowing breakup and the devastating loss of her mother. But Little Honey proves that philosophy wrong: This time out, Williams has found “Real Love,” the barnburner that kicks off the album, and she sings “Tears Of Joy,” a stunning Chicago-meets-Texas blues. On both tracks, her chansons d’amour are abetted by the straight-ahead backing of her touring group: longtime (for Williams) guitarist Doug Pettibone, joined by axman Chet Lyster, bassist David Sutton, and drummer Butch Norton, who give the album its punch.

The direct, autobiographical narrative “Tears of Joy” could have been written by Memphis Minnie: “Uprooted and restless, I paid the cost / I’ve been a mess, misguided and lost / But I’ve been so blessed since our paths have crossed / That’s why I’m crying tears of joy.” Williams gets straight to the heart of the matter with some of her strongest vocals ever. Likewise, on the spare “Heaven Blues”—on which she pays tribute to the Delta, recalling Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was The Ground”—Williams has been to hell and back and is ready to make her own heaven. Norton’s inventive percussion (including a washing machine and a manhole cover) is the perfect rhythmic backing to Williams’ crossroads declaration.

Little Honey also acknowledges the other roots music that has so informed the Americana queen’s songcraft. Her peals of laughter follow the wry honky-tonk number “Well Well Well,” with its classic C&W ending: “If you hang around trash you can’t come out clean.” Helping out on harmonies are Ryman throwback Jim Lauderdale and the eightysomething Charlie Louvin, the surviving member of country’s great duet, the Louvin Brothers.

Williams playfully nods to the tradition of “he said/she said” duets—think the evil twins of Conway and Loretta—on the fabulously fun “Jailhouse Tears.” As the “three-time loser,” Elvis Costello hasn’t relished such a down-home vocal role since he took on the guise of a country killer in “Psycho.”

Little Honey does have its somber moments, and this is where Williams’ poetry shines: Both “Knowing” (a dozen of its lines starting with “I didn’t know”) and the exquisite “Rarity” employ a lamps-down-low horn section and
Hammond B-3 to create a lush soundscape for Williams’ bruised delivery. “Little Rock Star,” its soaring chorus provided by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, is the follow-up (a beautiful loser, L.A.-style) to “Drunken Angel,” Williams’ 1998 character study of doomed Texas songwriter Blaze Foley. And remorse is the theme of windswept ballad “If Wishes Were Horses” and the mothballed “Circles and X’s,” written in 1985.

One of the most moving moments on Little Honey is the stark “Plan To Marry,” which features Williams alone with her acoustic guitar: “When the destitute and isolated / Have all been forgotten / And the fruit trees we planted / Are withered and rotten.” Williams once described the difficulty of writing a truly meaningful protest song—she’s done it here.

Little Honey is bookended by glorious rockers: Following a false start of blasting guitar, “Real Love” finds Williams swept up in a sea of crunchy Fenders, reverb and Rob Burger’s Wurlitzer. And straight from the School of Rock (or is it hard knocks?), she closes with AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To The Top,” bringing gospel-style fervor to the hell-raisin’ nugget: While Williams belts it out, Memphis soul sister Susan Marshall and company join her in a frenzied testimony. In between, there’s “Honey Bee,” a lusty rocker during which Williams bares all.

Co-produced by West engineer Eric Liljestrand and Williams’ fiancé, Tom Overby, Little Honey is the happy ending to 1998’s “Joy.” During the finale of her late-’90s concerts in ever larger halls, Williams and her band were known for vamping on the song’s rhythmic hook, “You took my joy / I want it back.” A decade later, on Little Honey, she’s got it and she gives it. How sweet it is.

Disco Stu, I have to say that your view of the new record is about exactly the same as mine. Excellent points that you made. I’ve heard it eight times thru now and I would agree with Lefty and give it a 7 on a 1-10 scale. I have heard “Circles And X’s” twice in concert this year, and I feel it is sounds much better when it is done live. Hopefully they will play it the night that you’re going.

On tonite’s listen the choice tracks are ‘Knowing’ and ‘Rarity’ – no coincidence that they’re laid back with beautifully interwoven horns. It’s evening here in the uk and they suit the mood perfectly. Mellow. 8)
Ps. I still really don’t like Elvis’ ‘Jailhouse’ so I’ll stick to Lu’s solo version. 😉

I agree with you Spyder, I feel that Elvis’ whiney nasal delivery is in tone with the lyrics – like he’s trying to ingratiate himself or excuse his actions within the song. Still not a great fan of E.C. but have to say this version is growing on me daily – it made me laugh out loud the first time i heard it and not many songs can do that!

I’ve had the CD for 5 days now, enough time to avoid making a totally instant judgment. (I said in Gretschman’s “Living in the Past” thread, I’d give it time!) So, that’s long enough… What better place to jump right in than with my thoughts on the Jailhouse Tears duet, the hot topic. I have to agree with Stu, Ripley, TonyG and others that Elvis Costello is the wrong choice for this duet.

I don’t have a problem with Elvis’s voice, or “style”. I’ve always been a fan of his early stuff. (He can play “Alison” and “Watching the Detectives” till the end of time and I’d listen happily. 8) ) But I understand what TonyG is saying about “too much Elvis.” I think it’s kind of like a movie where the presence of a big name actor overpowers the film, and the story doesn’t benefit because of the star power.

On the other hand, I’ve seen Elvis sing with Lu in a show, and it was good. I think in some cases they could make a fine duet — I think those two distinctive voices can play nicely off of each other. But I think with this particular song there is another problem. I’d call it a problem of cred. Lucinda’s stock in trade is authenticity. She has genuine credibility with every song she sings. And on Jailhouse Tears, she has cred. I believe her. But I just can’t suspend disbelief enough to hear Elvis and think he tried to steal her truck, if you know what i mean. I’m not saying I’d take this song literally if Doug were given this part, or Jim Lauderdale — who I’ve heard is great on this song — or Charlie Louvin (!!), but I think this song calls out for a guy who is not, well, Elvis Costello.

Elvis makes you take the song too seriously, I think. It’s supposed to be a light, humorous duet, and the song is very funny in a live show. (I heard Lu perform this during the second set at the self-titled album night in nyc with David Johansen, and it was just great — hilarious and fun.) But I don’t think that humor gets very well transmitted in this recording, imo.

Maybe this is just a problem of perception, but it’s hard to get beyond that. Other than this mild objection, I really do like Little Honey. I had to get the Elvis thoughts out of my head, though — so will make a separate post about the rest of the album….

I don’t like Elvis’s duet on Jailhouse tears. The solo alternate is much better. His voice is too whiny. Wish she’d tour UK.

Not a cardinal sin–or any other type from my perspective. It really is a shame that this forum appears to have a reputation where candid and clear-headed critiques of LWs albums and works are not openly received. In fact, several participants find it necessary to respond in a hostile and bullying-type manner. Why is this? We don’t want our children to harass so why do adults carry on as such? From a different perspective, I am not a fan of HB or L@TF either. Not a big deal, just not a big fan of these and find the recordings thin and flimsy. However, there’s nothing like the sound of Gurf Morlix or Kenny Vaughn or Bo Ramsey or Charlie Sexton or Doug Pettibone helping LWs to create that Lousiana twangfest, which is her watermark. There’s really something about what happens when we talk…