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Well, it’s fun to get to vent feelings somewhere, so thanks for humoring me. I grew up with the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin and lots of others and I’d never heard Lucinda’s music until I heard “Jailhouse Tears” on a local radio station. It really struck a chord with me because I had a court appearance coming up. I got lucky and got probation. Anyway, I love LW and EC on that song and went out and bought LW at the Filmore and was completely impressed. Not just by her beautiful voice but also by the lyrics, so simple but somehow profound. It’s hard to explain in words how music moves a person.
But, I digress. Sorry. LW can count on me as a solid fan until I go for my dirt nap.You’re right Lefty when you talk about an artist being ignored. In Australia the only reason I happened to find out Lucinda was touring was because of this website and it’s forums.
The only time that it was not in my home, car or Ipod that I once (yes once!) heard a LW song in public was ‘I Lost It’ some years ago in country Western Australia blasting away in a car stereo store. I never found out if that was the radio or the proprietor’s most excellent personal CD collection.. That must have been over 5 years ago but I’ll never forget it.
Now I don’t have Foxtel/cable so I don’t have a country music TV station but on free to air we never get a music video. The Australian Rolling Stone only gives the occasional ‘Random Note’ snipped from the US mag or else they sanctimoniously mention LW when talking about someone else. eg Kasey Chambers covered this LW song, the Waifs love LW.. Fair enough to reference if say you’re talking about Elvis, but jeez… It is like being part of some secret society! Without fail, everyone who asked who I was trekking halfway across the country for in April said “Who?” when I said who it was I was for.
To my forum mates you are so lucky to be firstly, aware of, and secondly this passionate about, this incredible artist. By all means keep arguing and keep posting – it’s the only source of info I have! 😀Thanks to Time Magazine’s article about “Little Honey”, especially telling us that Doug was the best “unknown” guitarist around, I purchased the album, listened, and made my family and friends listen to it. None of them got it like I did. Immediately, I purchased all her stuff from I-Tunes and went to work listening and trying to understand my immediate love for her voice, lyrics and the way she lets her band augment her sound. She recently came to my town (Oklahoma City) where I witnessed what some of you have seen numerous times. Magic. Although Doug was not there and LW had alergy issues that clearly affected her voice and hearing, you could tell that she and the band gave their all for her audience. She was clearly enjoying herself and seemed very happy to be performing. Since I put her albums on my I-pod and have listened to them repeatedly during the work day, I find it hard to listen to anything else. I have favorite songs (from a guitar player’s point of view) but as to which album is best will take me another year or so of listening, which I look forward to with great anticipation. It’s frustrating to find a true treasure in LW and others don’t. I’m the same way about some artists, I don’t have the time, money, and energy to invest in them. I’ve heard her compared to Bruce Springsteen, I wouldn’t know, I’ve made an effort to ignore him since I had to listen to “Born to Run” on repitition radio in the 70’s. Her lyrics referring to Neil Young and her use of minor chords do appeal to the Neil Young fan in me. That may be the secret to her hold on those of us who really listen to her music: the experience of her seemingly singing just to me (you).
Just have to agree here with Ali – it is quite hard being downunder, trying to find out about any different music is very hard. I also had all the “Who?” when talking about going to the show, and blank looks when you say “sorta alt-country/country rock”, people down here have no idea what you mean (and as soon as you say country, you get looked at a little strangely 😆 ). So, yes, ignored is bad, but its what you get when you live in a little backwater, with a small population.
Trying to get a hold of any of her CD’s is very hard – it amazes me she was able to get such a reasonable fan base down here, but I think it was all word-of-mouth. This also influences your favourite Lucinda albums. For a long time my fave was the first one I heard – WWT. You cannot get a hold of anything older than this here unless you order for an overseas copy, and pay a fortune for it, and then generally you can only get the most recent releases. I’m currently thinking about using iTunes to get her 2 oldest albums – this is the easiest way for me, but it shows I haven’t had the opportunity to be influence whatsoever by her older music.
Also – cmoody4 – I feel the same way, I play Lucinda all the time, I don’t get bored. I think there might be something wrong with me, no other music feels the same anymore. Lately I’m enjoying SOW very much, but in all reality, every album has at least a couple of songs that I absolutely adore. So I think a favourite album will change depending on where I’m at and whats happening in my life.
So remember some of us don’t have the luxury to compare the old with the new! Not that I’d necessarily want to, because we like what we like don’t we. I just know that for me, I have never liked so much of one artist before.
“So I think a favourite album will change depending on where I’m at and what’s happening in my life.”
Bingo, nickle.
I’m never much for Top 5/Top 10 lists.I see people are feeding the Troll again.
I actually don’t listen to West, and World Without Tears and Little Honey Enough. I’ve stuck them in my car recently because I know how much I listened to these albums when they first came out and how good they are. Enjoying them all over again.
David in Maine – I got my tickets to Elvis Costello in Dayton this summer. Cant’ wait to see Jerry Douglass (best dobro player in the world according to Alison Krauss) and some guy a few people in here may have heard of, Jim Lauderdale play as his backup band the Sugarcanes.
What you always say in here is your opinion. Everyone has an opinion. I’ve learned to know your knowledge and taste in music is pretty similar to mine. And as much as you dis on Lucinda I know you love her music, even her recent work. You just like to get a reaction out of people.
Hope you got some good concerts lined up for the summer.
Steve
by stevarino on Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:29 am: I got my tickets to Elvis Costello in Dayton this summer. Cant’ wait to see Jerry Douglass (best dobro player in the world according to Alison Krauss) and some guy a few people in here may have heard of, Jim Lauderdale play as his backup band the Sugarcanes…What you always say in here is your opinion. Everyone has an opinion. I’ve learned to know your knowledge and taste in music is pretty similar to mine. And as much as you dis on Lucinda I know you love her music, even her recent work. You just like to get a reaction out of people.
Thanks, for the concert well-wishes, and the dialog. With this in mind here are my concerts for the summer (to-date): Old Crow’s Big Surprise Tour; David Byrne; Paula Cole; Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson; Wilco/Conor Oberst w/the Mystic Valley Band; Zappa Plays Zappa; Adrian Belew; Neko Case; Paul van Dyk; and Brave Combo. I’ve seen Jerry Douglass and Jim Lauderdale several times and in several different settings. Looks like EC is visiting his musical roots again… I really like his Americana presentations…
Also, Steve: Although I appreciate your efforts in terms of trying to put your meaning onto my words, unfortunately you are quite incorrect. My taste in music may be similar to yours but I think there is more difference than similarity especially as it relates to LWs. For example, I am not “dis’ing” LWs rather engaging in an intellectual dialog as is the case with the recent “controversial” article (e.g. not everything any musician does can be the best). And, it’s funny that you find it necessary to recirculate “troll” again. As a matter of fact, some of the fanatics on this board (trolls?) try with all their (bullying) mite to snuff out most original thoughts and reviews. Yes, I do love her music but over the past decade it has become increasingly difficult to find consistency in her records and more importantly, I did not “discover” this notion. In addition, many critics/fans are saying the same thing I am so you may want to take your displaced finger-pointing away from me and put it on someone else–even collectively to a group of people. Even more importantly, I also sense that you are trying to put volume to the “majority” voice of this forum so from this perspective, maybe it’s worth your time to contine to try and can/intepret my words. Funny, if one looks at it from another perspective, all y’all could easily be seen as a ban of trolls, right?
David, David, David,
You always put so much effort into being devisive. I was just commenting on the chain of responses to the thread you started. And since I just received the EC tics remembered you had written some insightful comments about his previous “Americana tendencies. I have row C floor seats to Neko Case playing at Ryman Theater in Nashville next month so there is some more musical taste in common.
As far as LWs works, my favorite album is her self titled one, after that probably Sweet Old World and then Car Wheels. Probably not much different than yours. I’m just not so negative about her more recent work. You seem obsessed with being negative and derogotory about anything new she puts out, although you claim it is somehow an intellectual discussion. I on the other hand just enjoy it. I put enough intellectual effort into my job, and politics. For music its simple. I buy it if I enjoy it. My degrees are technical, so I’m too simple minded to worry to much about the intellectualities of music.
Sorry,
Steve
Steve:
A few thoughts:
1) I am not so sure why you insist on labeling my posts; especially as they are not “divisive” rather they speak to and from a sure-footed and well-informed opinion. What would it be like if you were/are decisive by actually trying to quell an original voice and stance? It certainly appears from what you are posting that it’s all about you and you are taking this personally. I wonder why?
2) Why are you so interested in similarities that you share with me re: the music world? Again, why is this about you and not the music?
3) Why tell this forum about your “technical degrees” and how they relate to your posts? And for politics, why is that so important and why bring it to this LWs forum? Again, why is this about you? So, now I should be influenced by a “technical degree” and I should simply agree with you carte-blanch and say, Wow? I wonder what exactly is a “technical degree” technically, speaking of course…?
4) Curious the “derogatory” way you start this entry with “David, David, David” and I wonder where this negative and finger-pointing energy comes from. Must be difficult to carry such challenging energy in the world.
5) There are many people who engage in the “intellectualities” (<–which is not a word) of music and actually make a living doing so–Rolling Stone Magazine, The New Yorker, David B, Prince, and EC to name only a few. Not so sure why you are discounting such endeavors so quickly. Again, why is this about you and why are you so interested in pointing your fingers at me? Is this about me or about you? I really am not interested either way just somewhat curious…
6) Favorite albums, really–not sure I think that way whether it’s LWs, Talking Heads, Prince, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Robert Earl Keen, Don Walser, or Wilco. As a matter of fact and although I like CWOGR and it’s a terrrific album and one of my favorite tours (w/Jim Lauderdale fyi) it’s not one that I would necessarily cling to. It signals the beginning of an era where her music began to shift (you know, super-group stuff–Charlie Sexton, Bo Ramsey along with slick, glam-production efforts by some of the best producers/master studios in the biz–a big shift). I have some theories around why this happened (and so do many others) but that album also signaled a big shift in her fan base, as well, which was good for the bottom line but not so good for focus in terms of the music’s big picture.
And tying all this together, this idea and shift makes the most recent article that much more accurate, poignant, entertaining, and simply hilarious in its language and Gestalt.
Why is it that every time (OK not every time) that some one comes in with a different albeit well-framed opinion in regards to LWs music, people find it necessary to say it’s bull*hit or they have their head’s up their #ss?
I would argue that parts of the article being discussed are hardly “well-framed opinion
.” Maybe it’s sloppy writing and the author in fact has a better grasp on Lu’s recent work than:Little Honey was disturbingly lousy, with Williams offering up 13 mostly sappy odes to Love and that’s with a big fat fucking capital L. It was everything fans thought Williams could never be: maudlin and melodramatic
would indicate. But taken at face value, whether Little Honey is a great album or a terrible album, this indicates to me an author who doesn’t really know what he’s talking about. Is her cover of It’s A Long Way To The Top a “sappy ode to Love”? Is If Wishes Were Horses “maudlin and melodramatic” (if it is, then I’d love to hear why it is and why her earlier work, apparently acclaimed by the author, isn’t…especially considering how long ago it was written)?
The bottom line is that, while some of the other criticism leveled at WWT, West, and Little Honey seemed to be backed up more effectively, opinions like the one I quoted above leave me not thinking that the author is wrong about a Lucinda album that he actually listened to, nor do they make me reconsider my own feelings about the album. Instead, I shake my head and guess that he gave it a cursory listen, if that. It’s not that I don’t think someone can validly criticize Little Honey as “disturbingly lousy”; it’s that if someone does so and in doing so makes a crazy characterization of one of her most upbeat and uptempo albums as “maudlin and melodramatic”…well, I’m going to need to hear why the author thinks all thirteen songs on the album are sappy love songs. It’s a contrarian enough opinion that I’m nowhere near satisfied to take it at face value – and as I said previously, it instantly makes me think the author never gave it a real listen.
I pretty much agree dead on with this review. I would actually rate WWT higher than Essence however the lows of WWT (dead on Righteously, Atonement and American Dream) are WAY lower than any of the lows on Essence. However, the highs are way higher for me.
West and Little Honey are just not for me at all. I enjoy a handful of songs on each (well, the title track and Everything Has Changed from West and Horses and uhhh well umm I think thats about it from Little Honey). The albums are criminally indulgent and unfocused.
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