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Great comments, Ray. I appreciate you taking the time to reverb. How excellent is it to frame the current LW runs with those of her earlier days–it makes the picture complete. We can’t recreate the past just like we can’t ignore the past. Many long-time culties take offense at LWs new “sound” and presentation, which I don’t agree with. But this is missing the point. As we get older our views change. Our styles change but we hold onto and reflect our essence. After all, World Without Tears, Lonely Girls, Out of Touch, and I Envy the Wind are all LW classics and can certainly be hold-up against anything in her catalog as well. Those of us that have been riding the LW bus for 20-plus years are lucky in the fact that we have this perspective.
Sure, much of Live @ the Fillmore is, in part, considered a dud by some fans, but that is besides the point. As fans, I think it is our ultimate responsibility to support the artists and their music with an appreciative yet critical eye. Not every recording is good. Not every song is a hit. Not every concert is smooth. The same is true with two other artists I cherish and have followed for over 25-years: Prince and Elvis Costello. Not every record of theirs is solid nor is every concert “the best.” Especially these two because they are so all over the place with their music. Like Lucinda Williams, I appreciate all of their music. An “off” Elvis C, or Prince, or David B, or LW song is much better than an “on” song from most other artists in my opinion. But, it is only my opinion! Thanks, for the dialog.
With all due respect, I can empathize with the Austin City Limits Hat-Man. I, too, miss the 1988 through 1992-era Lucinda Williams shows and sounds. Gurf Morlix on lead guitar (a now celebrated producer/solo artist—listen to Slaid Cleaves or Mary Gauthier for more 411) with Lucinda singing her latest gems was an awesome treat during those way-early days. She was like a lonely tour-bus driver telling her lucky passengers where she has been and what had happened on her roads. Then, when she resurfaced several years later with Kenny Vaughn (awesome studio musician) on lead was another interesting reflection of musical persona. Luckily enough, she captured Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan’s famed lead guitarist) for sometime for the Essence days. Somehow, she went to Iowa City to get the incredibly swampy sound of the one-and-only Bo Ramsey’s guitar (Greg Brown’s long-time sideman) who partnered with the now infamous Doug Pettibone (you won’t find a more dedicated audiophile/guitar hound anywhere). All of these journies add up to a truly an amazing ride. Truly.
Without a doubt, LWs sound is now different. She comments on this herself. Her songwriting has morphed, too. As it should–change is inevitable, growth is optional. From my perspective, it’s OK to miss the past. I was lucky to be take part in those early days when us fans were considered “cult-like” (appropriately so!). These were the times before Tom Petty’s opening slot, before $100 tickets at Stone Mountain, before she was a darling of anybody anywhere. This was a time when she was on Rough Trade Records opening for Graham Parker and what not…
I don’t think anyone can argue with the fact that “Sharp Cutting Wings (Song to a Poet)” off the classic Happy Woman Blues is one of the best songs ever written. Or on “Side of the Road” where LW reflects:
If I stray away too far from you, don’t go and try to find me
I doesn’t mean I don’t love you, it doesn’t mean I won’t come back and
stay beside you
It only means I need a little time
To follow that unbroken line
To a place where the wild things grow
To a place where I used to always goEven one of LWs biggest fans–David Byrne–laments for his early days—a time when his songwriting was innocently spontaneous, fresher, less laborious and less celebrated. Once you come up with Happy Woman Blues or Sweet Old World, it’s hard to keep that momentum up. From another perspective, I really value Talking Heads early material and concerts just as I truly cherish LWs early material and concerts—there will be nothing like them ever again. But, the same is true for LWs current stuff and David Byrne’s most excellent solo material and shows. They are awesome—just different. Not “the same as it ever was…” Nonetheless, it’s OK to wonder and reflect while we all change, grow, and morph as time goes on. As Jimi Hendrix once said: Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens
Actually, the Stone Mountain Arts Center has been attracting some huge artists for sometime now. Perhaps, it would be better said that the artists like playing there so much that their most positive feedback then spreads to other artists (this LW show only went on sale two weeks ago). Tickets a bit pricey ($100 for the likes of John Hiatt or LW) but worth the “up close and personal” dealio that goes with the show. More information here on their current calander:
http://www.stonemountainartscenter.com/ArtsCenter/event-calendar.html
Here’s a partial list of who has played SMCA:
Mary Chapin Carpenter Richie Havens Paula Poundstone The Indigo Girls Bruce Cockburn Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys Leo Kottke Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Aztec Two-Step Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives Livingston Taylor Kathy Mattea Cheryl Wheeler Cowboy Junkies The Grascals Los Straitjackets Tom Rush Maura O’Connell Red Stick Ramblers Capitol Steps Harry Manx Crooked Still Chris Smither Joe Ely The Mammals Suzy Bogguss Leon Redbone John Hiatt Taj Mahal Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the list goes on…
