Another 4 Stars for Little Honey
Lucinda Williams relies on her road band, Buick 6, from the false start of “Real Love” that kicks off Little Honey to the final gospel-blues assault on AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top” that tucks it away. Wit this tour-tested chemistry behind her, Williams delivers the voice of experience, offering advice to a self-destructive “Little Rock Star,” embracing the security and simplicity of live in a world gone to way in “Plan to Marry,” and holding tight to her integrity in a business desperate for the almighty buck in the brass-enhanced, spooked-organ arrangement of the 9-minute epic “Rarity.” Her voice is the perfect instrument – charred, broken, weather in all the right places, the sound of a country-blueswoman who has spent years on the road. Only her duet with Elvis Costello on “Jailhouse Tears” sounds forced, as EC’s bluster turns emotion into self-parody.
Music: FOUR (out of five) STARS
Sound: FOUR (out of five) STARS
12/10/2008