LW: Little Honey and The Boston Globe

Hmmm I agree in some ways and disagree on other points.

For starters I maintain that Little Honey is a vast improvement over West. An album I still struggle with and generally only like a couple songs and only truly love one (Everything Has Changed). I do agree that LH is an odd album in many ways. After multiple listens it becomes quite easy to realize what era a lot of these songs were written in and in some cases you can see why they didn’t make it to the albums they were written for. Unfortunately the songs that scream WEST are the ones I find myself the least interested in and the ones that have been confirmed as oldies I’ve loved since before I knew that about them (Circles and X’s and Horses).

On the issue of the lyrics I can see why someone might be critical of some of the choices but in an instance like Circle’s And X’s or Well Well Well, two songs that seem more about presenting a classic Country/Americana vibe than a poetic expression it makes sense to incorporate cliche’s like “raining cats and dogs”. It reminds me of something like “When I get back this room better be picked-up”. It’s more about the scenery and culture of the moment.

Whereas lines like “You squeeze my peaches” and “Now I got your honey all over my tummy” are cute and pretty daring for a 55 year old woman. These songs are light and fun and joyful. The lyrics leave a bit to be desired but I think they fit the mood of the songs. They come off pretty natural for being somewhat blushworthy.

Now an “over-mannered Elvis Costello” is about the most perfect way to desrcibe his presence on the record. Not a fan of that track.

Is it Car Wheels? No, of course not. It’s not even S/T or World Without Tears in my opinion but it’s still a very strong record that creates a pleasant atmosphere and despite containing songs from a 25 year period sounds very cohesive. It could be improved and I can understand the frustration of some reviewers who are used to a certain level of quality from Lucinda.