It's always a good time to celebrate Lucinda Williams, but now is an even better time than usual: She just released a new album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, which seems to be universally adored and is currently in rotation here at KEXP (she's still got her spot in M). This album has a local connection, too, featuring the always-brilliant guitar work of our very own Bill Frisell (if you were lucky enough to catch her performance at the Zoo this summer, you got a preview when he joined her on stage).
Of course we love Lucinda Williams here – you just voted for her as one of your favorite artists, right between Grizzly Bear and Blondie – but there was a time when some DJs at scrappy ol' KCMU weren't entirely sure whether what she was doing on this self-titled LP made sense for this station. Sure it was great, sure it was captivating, sure it was engaging... but was it KCMU material? I'm glad we've put that particular question to rest.
"Country folk-kinda stuff. Lucinda has one hell of a voice, though.""She's hot, strong voice, good stuff."
"Captivating! Reminds me of Melanie. Really!"
"Ok, but KCMU material?"
"Sure . . . why not?"
"Her version of Howlin' Wolf's 'I asked for Water' is SO COOL!!!"
"And boy, can she get real bluesy, too. 'Changed the Locks' is classic. How about moving this up to M?"
"One of the most engaging female country vocalists since that woman K.D. Lang erroneously insists that she's re-incarnated from [Patsy Cline, FYI] . . . I like Lucinda!"
Obviously, my parents did way too good of a job raising me, as I have pretty much no familiarity with the woman who, according to the Internet, was "widely considered the most controversial and radical female singer of her day" – Wendy O. Williams' day being more or less the first twelve years of m…
