The Essence of Lucinda

I welcome in the world those rare moments when some voice, another, something outside and other, touches me and resonates with a specificity that seems familiar; a familiarity that evokes my memories and, indeed, a voice that echoes back to me my experience of life, while not losing the allure of its own idiosyncratic beauty, and the nuances and subtlety of detail that distinguish it as other. This is the duality that I always seek out and find in things of great beauty and meaning; for me, things of such great importance as to be reasons for living.

I find this resonance in the work of Lucinda Williams, and with her latest album, "Essence," she continues to deliver songs that are simply, well, beautiful. The arrangements are elegant and the guitar chords have a sublime sense of timing, weaving in and out of Williams'concise vocals with an ease as natural as breathing. The 11 songs on this album are all solid; ranging from the sardonic gospel inspired hymn, 'Get Right with God' to the atmospheric bluesy lament, 'Are you Down'. While much of the anger of earlier Williams songs such as 'Joy' or 'I asked for Water and You Gave Me Gasoline' is missing, Williams' earnest sincerity is still very much in evidence throughout the album, especially on 'I Envy the Wind' and 'Bus to Baton Rouge'.

Maybe it's because I am from Texas, and we were raised on the same soil and breathed the same air (Lucinda cut her musical teeth in Austin), but I frequently find within her lyrics moments that I truly feel are mine. Moments that I have lived and memories of things that I have seen. I know about car wheels on gravel roads, I know about losing friends and love, I know about going home and of things that I remember there but are better not told. Of course we all know, but Lucinda tells us in a way that is sincere and honest and full of truth. In a postmodern world where words are glib and hardly ever enough, I am touched by these songs and moved by the beauty of something simple and maybe even common, told with truth.