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Song of the Day #288: ‘Right in Time’ – Lucinda Williams

car-wheelsNever one to rush, Williams took another six years before releasing her next album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. The long wait, and the story behind it, became another chapter in Williams’ story… she was derided as a control freak, her perfectionism painted in the worst possible light.

But it’s hard to argue with the results. Car Wheels was hailed as a masterpiece, winning Williams her first Grammy and topping countless year-end and decade-end top ten lists. It also was her first album to go gold (and possibly her last, though I’m not sure about that).

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Song of the Day #287: ‘Sidewalks of the City’ – Lucinda Williams

sweetoldworldWilliams waited four years before releasing her next album, 1992’s Sweet Old World. It’s similar in sound to her self-titled album, though it’s thematically much darker.

The album’s strongest stretch is a three-song span toward the middle, stating with the aching title track, directed at a friend lost to suicide (“See what you lost when you left this world, this sweet old world”). Two tracks later comes ‘Pineola,’ a southern rock jam, spiked with violin, chronicling that loss and the funeral that followed (“I saw his mama, she was standin’ there / His sister, she was there too / I saw them look at us standin’ around the grave / And not a soul they knew”).

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Song of the Day #286: ‘Like a Rose’ – Lucinda Williams

lucindaThe YouTube availability of Lucinda Williams’ music is a mixed bag. Her whole early career is there for the taking, as well as her most recent album. But there’s a two-album stretch of songs that is blocked at every turn. I mention this because I’m straying a bit from the one album per day pattern in order to fill in those gaps.

So today’s song is another from Williams’ classic self-titled album. That record is probably best known for yesterday’s song, ‘Passionate Kisses,’ as well as the sublime ‘Side of the Road,’ which I featured on this blog last October.

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Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

ghostsI hold out hope for Matthew McConaughey.

Yes, he has become more famous for shedding his shirt than for his acting, and yes, he has released a string of tired romantic comedies that smack of little but a paycheck grab.

But he has also expertly portrayed two iconic characters in two of my all-time favorite movies: Wooderson in Dazed and Confused and Buddy Deeds in Lone Star. Those performances alone earn McConaughey a free pass for life. And his funny turn in last year’s Tropic Thunder is a sign that he might still have some interesting work ahead of him.

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Song of the Day #285: ‘Passionate Kisses’ – Lucinda Williams

lucwillIt was eight years before Lucinda Williams put out another album. Eight years! Whether that was due to choice or bad luck, I don’t know, but when she finally did release her follow-up to Happy Woman Blues, it was well worth the wait.

Lucinda Williams is one of those albums with a reputation that far exceeds the success it enjoyed when released. There’s a famous saying about the Velvet Underground’s first album that only 100 people heard it but every one of them was inspired to start a band. And I think the same could be said of this album.

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