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I wonder if there is anyone else who recalls this forum when West was released? Lots of personal comment directed at fellow posters and plenty of sour stuff about the inability of people to listen without prejudice or whingeing about how Lu just wasn’t as good as she used to be etc.
Well I am really excited about Littel Honey so I have resolved to try and dump my habit of comparing everything with Car Wheels. As a big fan I guess it is only natural to have a favourite record but the debate about West was for me dominated by the loss of Taras and Jimmy and the fact that I couldn’t listen to it without the filter of Car Wheels or memories of a great concert by the then defunct Love Band.
So no more living in the past from me – just a fresh set of ears from a longtime fan and a healthy does of positive vibes about what I hope will be album of the year.
A good resolution, and excellent suggestion for all of us, Gretschman. Most of us know that every Lucinda album (just like every Lucinda show) is going to be different, and so bringing expectations from the past is not really fair. (Nothing ever compares to hazy, glorious memory… 🙁 )
But I think that suggestion may be going against human nature! It’s difficult not to have — and express — an instant reaction!
I pine for more of the self-titled era songs (and Car Wheels era, too), but I try to look at each subsequent album as a new experience. I know Tim speaks of the legendary concerts of the past (and I envy him for being there), but I am still thrilled to see Lu, whatever form she is in, at live shows today.
Of the new songs I’ve heard (at the “listening party” site), I’ve got a favorite already and a few that aren’t bowling me over yet, but I’ll hold my instant opinion for a bit and give it time. “West” took a little time to grow on me, and now I do think it is a great album.
If Lucinda can keep it fresh, we as fans do owe her “a set of fresh ears.” 8)
Great start to what might turn into a long thread. I wasn’t on the forum last year, but I had issues with West on first listening. Not the individual songs, but the track order. Rather lethargic pace for the first studio release in what, four years? I have no problem with two-chord songs (some of my best friends are two-chord songs), and Lu could write a great one-note song if she wanted, but as a listener I like a little kick start when I plunk in a CD.
Personally I don’t think Lucinda has peaked – she has a great mind and spirit, and I’m amazed at her ability to tour so long and hard. What a role model for middle aged artists, to not rest on your laurels, play your oldies on the casino circuit etc etc. As I’ve said elsewhere on this forum, her music is evolving, as it should.
While we’re at it, how about weighing in on choices for the song most likely to be remembered in say, fifty years? My vote: Over Time.
Tough one to nominate one song…..my personal favourites may not have the universal appeal…….hmmmm
I go for Changed The Locks – Although it does not have a complex structure and is I suppose just a list of devices to avoid contact, it is very witty and has just the right amount of bile. I also like to think it is about a woman exercising empowerment – Tom Petty notwithstanding. So in that sense it is very much of its era to me.
“West” took a while to grow on me too. Although, looking back, it has definitely ended up being my most “listened to” album from 07. I saw an interview somewhere online last night where Lu said that Little Honey reminded her most of her ST album, and that in a way she felt she had come full circle, but that there was also new growth with songs like Little Rock Star. I think that bodes well for how the fans will receive the album. I’m really looking forward to it. If wishes were horses is the outstanding track of the one’s we’ve heard so far.
I’m interested in seeing what the critical reaction will be to the new album – the reaction to West was rather mixed. I’m not sure that a lot of the reviewers “got” the album, particularly those that gave it very low scores when they had rated Lucinda highly in the past. One of my friends, who is a musician, said that she thought Lu’s music had changed gradually since Car Wheels to be “all about Lucinda”. She said that she felt like she could cover any song of Car Wheels, and some on the albums that followed, but nothing on West. I can see that.
As for songs that will be remembered in 20 years – Pineola, of course.
BTW, Gretschman, ditto here on the memories of the Love Band shows – I’ve seen a few really great drummers, but watching Jim Christie put his heart and soul into it ranks at the top. Way fun.
I’ve been on the Lucinda train since 2000, but it is her ability to change and stay relevant that allows me to think she’s one of the most creative artists still working. So many are living on successes of decades ago, and Lucinda just keeps coming up with amazing stuff. I attribute a lot of that to her willingness to share the limelight with Doug. He’s a MONSTER guitar player. Between her lyrics and melodies and his muscical, technological and performance expertise, they have created the most refreshing, consisten tmusic over the last five years than anyone recording today!
And I would have to add picking a favorite Lucinda song is impossible for me. I am in band, and we do seven or so covers: Essence, Rightously, Come on, Metal firecracker, Right in Time, Learning to Live W/o you, I Lost It and Drunken Angel. I can’t even pick my favorite among those eight; depends on what lind of mood I’m in. Essence almost always gets the most favorable repsonse, but Right in Time scores big as well.
Okay, I’m going with Essence! The live version is absolute, total rock and roll mixed with the best of lyrics and delivery!
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