Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

Nice sounding album, nothing special

Great songwriting. For some reason I don't see myself returning back to this one. Not dynamic enough for me I guess.

Very solid folk rock.

Actually got quite into this! At first I wasn't sure but particularly liked the last song

Album started strong but got a but boring towards the end.

Meget stille og roligt. Jeg var ikke fan i starten men blev overvundet lidt til sidst. Country-vibes. Måske skal der lyttes lidt mere til teksten?

Just not my vibe.

decent run of the mill country, nothing exciting

Pleasant country.

Kinda a combination of rock and country (I guess its called roots rock?). Not really my cupa tho

I liked Joy and Car Wheels On A Gravel Road best on this one.

Vocals were angst vs twang. This warmed on me and I appreciated it more than I expected. Decent story telling and solid folk instrumental backing.

I went into this with some pre-conceived feelings about the album. I've heard it before and it never really clicked. I can tell she's really a solid songwriter, in that same vein as Townes VanZandt and John Prine and Iris DeMent, but something about the 1990's rock instrumentation just feels a bit lazy and formulaic and I never really clicked with this one as a whole. Still, glad to be giving it a play through as there are some really good songs here. I don't think I'm ever going to love this album, and I don't think it would make the cut on a list of say, 500 albums, but I still think it's worth knowing more about who Lucinda Williams is and some of the great songs she has written, and this is certainly one of her more well know efforts.

Koselig album! Merker at country ikke gir meg så mye. Det kan være stemning for et par sanger, men så blir det litt langtekkelig og repetitivt. Var likevel noen skikkelige bangers på det albumet her! Beste sanger: Can't Let Go, Drunken Angel og Still I Long For Your Kiss.

dd

Country that sits in parallel with Alanis Morissette and pj Harvey. Might give it a further try to see how hooky it gets

joa

It's not bad, but I just don't like Lucinda Williams. I can't even put my finger on it.

Nice enough, very Sheryl Crow. A bit long after a few tracks.

Some good songs but a little too "country-flavored" for my taste. Really like the last song (Jackson).

Blues, country. "Can't Let Go"

5

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. It goes against my tastes for the most part but I enjoyed a few songs more than I anticipated.

Buena voz. Pausado. Buenos acordes.

Good but not my thing

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

It's incredibly bland heartland/roots rock with country influences. Not something I'd come back to.

2.5 fave track 2 Kool 2 be forgotten

Enjoyable folk-country with a sometimes drunk sounding sheryl crow. Drunken Angel is a highlight.

Would probably have never gotten around to listening to this one if it hadn't been for this challenge, but I'm glad I did! Really like her voice.

i see how this could be great for country fans, but for me it was alright. but i still think lucina williams is great

It was nice

I think there is a part in me that likes country style music. To me this is a country style album. I liked it. An unknown artist to me. She only reached the Dutch album Top100 for a few weeks on 6 albums of the 14 she released up to now.

Pretty voice

Solid alt-country album. Similar to Wilco's AM.

alternative country

At first I assumed this was a Country Album based on the everything about it, but I wouldn't classify it with frat-boy-blue-jeans-and-beer country. Williams has a pretty pronounced twang in her voice, but beyond that, her voice is light and airy and pretty beautiful imo. Still not my type of music and not very lyrically complex (compared to say, Dolly Parton) but I like it!

did not listen a lot

Feels a little bad comparing this to the Sheryl Crow album from a few weeks back, but another polished roots-rock record this certainly is. My impressions are mostly the same, though this project has much more potential to grow on me.

Egentligen rätt hyfsad Singer/songwriter-country. Men jag har svårt för Lucindas röst. Här kan man nästan förtränga den. På äldre dar har hon blivit helt outhärdlig. Låter som om hon sjunger med munnen full av både kaffet och kakan eller som om hon sitter i tandläkarstolen med käften full med diverse slangar. Då kan betyget inte bli högre än en tvåa trots flera rätt bra låtar.

Music for Americans to wear jeans to.

Does country have a landfill indie equivalent? If not, then it should. I just don’t get the appeal of country music.

It's an ok country album.

Monotonous, repetitive, and dull. Easily mistaken for other, better artists of the era. Nothing that stood out as decent at all. Some not bad riffs in the middle, but overall, fairly basic and boring. Definitely not a must listen to, and best album of that year?

This listen was alright, gotta revisit sometime but felt like this was a little too lush and dreamy for me to like it as a country album.

A bit uninspiring. Meh drum fills, meh guitar, meh lyrics. Vocals weren't a highlight either

More derivative style and sounds. If you love country, you'll love Lucinda. I don't. sorry Luce.

2 stars I like Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Did not really enjoy. Not really a fan.

She’s got a nice voice, but you couldn’t really make more generic pop-country even if you tried. It’s ”well-made”, but that’s basically what makes it boring. One of those albums a friend of mine could get off this list two weeks from now and I’d have no recollection if I’ve heard it yet or not. It didn’t annoy me enough to give it a single star, so let’s make it two.

Country, 1998 -> 2

Extremely repetitive, which isn't my favorite.

When you order Sheryl Crow off wish

Was this album celebrated because Lucinda Williams was already a beloved singer-songwriter, or was there something on here that made it stand out among it's contemporaries that I'm just missing out on? The production is pretty solid, but there's nothing on this album that truly stands out. Everything just sounds like more of the same, and that sound is just "meh" at best..

This is... fine. It is maybe a stylistic predecessor to the post-2001 country music without as much patriotic messaging. I'm not sure this album is really notable or interesting enough to be on this list, but nothing about it is really disappointing. It's decent, but I'll probably never come back to this again. I was originally going to give this a 3, but after looking over the last few days of threes I don't think this album quite gets there for me. Favorite track: "Lake Charles" but mainly because it's the first time I can remember hearing about Nacogdoches in a song, and my grandparents grew up near there.

It was pretty much what I was expecting. Someone lamenting all the shit in their life, set to repeatable country and western music. None of th etracks sounded any different from the others. It's probably obvious this is "not my bag", in the slightest. No doubt fans of this music will see some reason to laud it. I made it all the way through.

I didn't realize how many songs I knew were by Lucinda Williams. I thought they were by a sad Cheryl crow

Horrible week of selections, really bad, nothing even a little enjoyable the last 5 days. This one sucks too. I have never understood how she became even remotely popular. Weak vocalist, boring songs, average musicianship, topics I couldn't care less about, etc. Just completely misses the mark for me. Maybe the songs are considered well written? I hear her trying to be a poor woman's Sheryl Crow. No song has more than 23M listens (and that's only one, "Can't Let Go") and most are just over 1M. No hits, no legacy, no one covering this stuff, nothing groundbreaking. 2 stars.

4/10

boring

By song 3 I could confidently pin down exactly what this album was about and what it had to offer in totality. It toes a very forgettable line between country/folk and rock. I literally have nothing else to offer. I don't doubt the authenticity of these songs but everything falls short

As mediocre an album as they come. Relatively pleasant without ever getting out of second gear. ‘Can’t let it go’ tries to at least provides some variety and stops the feeling that this is all variations on the same track. Unfortunately the tracks after that (up to ‘Greenville’)appear to switch to more that style so becomes variations on two tracks/styles ‘Joy’ is surprisingly unjoyful to listen to. If this process allowed for half marks it would be 2.5/5 (straight down the middle), but as it is it’s a 2/5.

Country-Americana isn’t really my thing so, while this was perfectly inoffensive, and clearly very accomplished, it isn’t an artist or an album I’d seek out again.

Forgettable country(ish) music from a woman who sounds a bit like Sheryl Crow, but if she's had too many glasses of prosecco. She upped the slurring on Drunken Angel which was a choice. I found the Wikipedia page about making the album more interesting than the album itself. I think the only song I really could say I actively liked was Can't Let Go... which it turns out, she didn't write. Also I do enjoy an accordion. 2/5

Some great songs some absolutely awful

Marketing departments making their commercials bouta go crazy for this

++: Can't Let Go, Joy, Jackson +: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten, Concrete and Barbed Wire, Still I Long for Your Kiss +-: Right in Time, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, I Lost It, Metal Firecracker -: Drunken Angel, Lake Charles --: Greenville 4,1/10

Meh. Boring and felt unimaginative. Like drinking soda or any fizzy drink that has been opened and left there for days.

This is kinda awful country music. Stereotypical 'my dog died, my husband left me' music

New to me. I didn't actively dislike it, good in parts but it was about 3 songs too long.

This is like a slightly better version of the Alanis Morrisette album we had to listen to. Slightly.

This felt, okay. Nothing great. Bit hard to dislike or overly like. Sounds fine. Nothing impactful I could find Strong 2, weak 3

Fairly harmless, unremarkable singer-songwriter music with a potent country twang to the vocals. Yeah, that's never gonna be a winning formula for me.

I don't get it. All these 'must listen to' country albums sound the same. There's nothing new or groundbreaking here, it's the same usual dirge as the rest of it. What am I missing?

Quite boring bluesy country

Songs about lost loves, heartbreak, sad angels, dusty roads, and worn out guitars all woven into a wistful tapestry of the deep south make for a typical alt country album. Lucinda’s twangy, gritty vocals (and a backstory with lots of turmoil plus a Grammy and three years in the making) get Car Wheels on The 1001 Must Hear List. Best song is Can’t Let Go, which unfortunately was not written by Williams. (1.89*s) This album is a great example of why I’m still not into country music. And I’m also surprised anyone would go looking for joy in Memphis.

Not a bad album. Williams got a Sheryl Crow doing country sound. Not much else I can say about this and would never have hit my ears without the list. A one-timer for me at 1.97 stars.

Wasn't familiar with the genre Americana but it seems like a pretty good descriptor for this album. It's equal parts alternative, country, rock and pop but hits a lot of the tropes you would expect from a southern comfort album. References to growing up in the south, lost loves and a longing for life back home are abundant all the way through. I can appreciate it for what it is even if it likely isn't something I would have listened to on my own. I didn't know Lucinda Williams previously but it seems like she had some popularity in the 90's. I can see how she would have gained a following as she seems like a relatively accessible, safe southern belle with ties to all parts of the workingman/woman's south. The vocals are a little lethargic at times but the music for the most part is down the middle enough to appeal a pretty wide range. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road is a pretty cliched example of this in all the right ways. It was an OK album though a little played out by the end of it. Still better than plenty of other entries. 2.57 stars

I really tried but I just don't like country.

Historically Important but Personally Unrelatable I know this album is allegedly 'historically important.' But I'm not from the American South, so to me this sounds rather generic. The problem is simple: I can't relate to much of this. I was raised in a middle-class Russian family in the middle of Texas. I never woke up to the smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon. We had tea and kasha and blini. All the little sayings, the gravel road imagery... none of it means anything to me. I guess I can pick out a good few of the cities she references though. For me to like Folk/Country, I would need to listen to Russian folk/blues (which I do really like). That's why I can't really enjoy this genre. The songwriting is what she's known for (I think), and she does have talent here. There are some real poetic pictures of the Southern lower-middle-class environment. The cajun accent is pretty cool. But the songs themselves? Standard chord structures and rhythms. Nothing that really grabs me. "Right in Time" – Actually pretty good stuff. Very heartfelt. Pretty sparse musically and has a blues twang. I like her voice, it's raspy and real and sounds like somebody's aunt. The chorus is good. This isn't my genre of music at all but I wouldn't be mad at someone for putting this on. 6-7/10. "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" – The lyrics illustrate Southern life. To me it doesn't mean much. I've only heard car wheels gravel when we would go camping. Pretty basic sound. Lots of cymbal lol. Kind of bright. 3-4/10. "2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten" – Pretty twangy sound. I wonder what it's like in a real juke joint. Very mid-tempo. Kind of groovy. Nothing really stuck. Very lazy song (not in a negative way necessarily). 3/10. "Drunken Angel" – I actually like the chorus and the melody. This one is a bit more rock-ish. I like the imagery here and the song is emotionally complex. It's relatable to loving someone good but broken. Maybe a dad. The guitars have a good bit of edge. Pretty heavy stuff. 4/10. "Concrete and Barbed Wire" – God damn if this is not the anthem for shitty American cities. Almost every city in the US feels this way. Much more bluesy and melancholic sparse track. I also hear an accordion which is cool. Kind of waltzy. (I understand this was written in reference to prison but to me it can also be a metaphor for most southern cities) 3-4/10. "Lake Charles" – Pretty bluesy, less waltzy and more western. It's fun being able to recognize all of these cities having been to half of them. The accordion is fun. Chill ah song. 3-4/10. "Can't Let Go" – This one is actually pretty fucking fun. I really like the faster tempo — way more my rhythm. It sounds like something from Borderlands. 7-8/10. If I had a few more listens I might even be compelled to add to my playlist. "I Lost It" – Back to the slower tempo ughhhh. Cool imagery: "Are you heavy enough to make me stay, I feel like I may blow away." Very rock song. 3/10. "Metal Firecracker" – The songs are starting to feel samey. At this point in the album it's getting a bit exhausting. 2-3/10. "Greenville" – Much slower. Sounds like a pretty shitty guy. Yeah sad. 3/10. "Still I Long For Your Kiss" – Rock and blues mix. Guitar solo is whatever. I think I just had my fill of country. 2-3/10. "Joy" – Sounds kind of Cowboy Bebop-ey. I like the guitar solo a lot more here. Very simple song lyrically, kinda makes it more memorable and powerful? 3-4/10. "Jackson" – Very slow. Kind of pretty. This album had a lot of themes of singing about specific Southern cities. Makes it pretty regional and not the strongest choice imo. 2-3/10. This album has some clear highlights: "Right in Time" is a strong opener, "Drunken Angel" has emotional complexity, and "Can't Let Go" is genuinely fun. But the rest blurs together. I know this is historically important, but because I'm not from the 90s this sounds rather generic to me. There were some songs that I wouldn't be mad at hearing. Otherwise, very forgettable. Rating: 4.5/10

Yeah. Good. Nice. Some cool modern country songwriting I guess. Her voice and technique and phrasing are pretty cool. I'm not personally in love with the pop country production.

Too boring and too country for me.

country shit

I’ve never heard her before this album (last week). Nothing particularly notable for me.

2/5 country girl

Su voz es bonita. La letra no me fijé mucho por aburrimiento (que me pegó en la tercera canción). No es un álbum para mí, no soy fan del country USA, pero como dije antes si me gustó su voz, quizás la volvería a escuchar solo por eso.

This album would be up my alley but it was a miss for me. Lyrics are repetitive on almost every song. Just led me to believe she couldn’t come up with anything else.

Oof. That was boring. Joy was kind of ok, but too late, second last song.

Not much to say. I found this one boring

Dull

It's not bad, it's just boring

Hmmm ok in places but no for me.

When your mum tells you “we have Sheryl Crow at home”

Decent, but not quite my tempo. Listened to it while working, so did not pay too close attention.

Not really outstanding, and the vocals are quite whiny throughout the album. I did like the guitar solo in "Still I long for your kiss". And especially in "Joy" the guitar has a great bluesy, slightly distorted, sustained sound! And it features some solid bass playing.

the cover tells you exactly what the album is going to be. Just some country stuff. Still not a fan of country, I also still don't understand why this album, or about 90% of the country albums on this list had to be there. Whenever stuff like this comes up I cannot wait for the downfall of America, if only just so we can all finally accept that country has no significance outside America and needs no international attention.

Not as bad as kd lang but still pretty boring. Tap dripping in a bathroom sink. Paint drying on a beige wall.

Car wheels the song is amazing. The rest is very pop country nothing.

Stripped back, melancholic Americana. Meh... it's OK I guess.

Listening session: june 25th, while chilling at home during the heatwave Listened to before: no Thoughts: quite boring, don’t know why this is on the list Favourite track: Can’t Let Go

I've read the reviews. I'm not going to waste my time. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ❌️ Revisit ❌️ ★★☆☆☆(4/10) default rating Total reviewed : 350 Already owned : 78 Purchased : 16 To buy : 3 Nope : 253

i can see a version of this I like but it has a bit too much country twang and it's a little too simple

Entretenido

Not too bad but still awful country.

Too generic, even for country standards. I like my country songs non-wishy-washy.

This honestly got pretty repetitive quickly. A lot of the tracks were just structured too similarly I guess. Showed some flashes, but ultimately pretty dull for a 90's country record.

the kind of soft country pop that makes me think i’m not american enough to enjoy this. listened to while doing the dishes + reading east of eden, which was not terrible tbh!

The songs themselves sound pretty bland and nothing special. It was Williams’s voice that I didn’t like. I thought it sounded grating at times.

eh

Last weekend I had a chance to see Ben Folds at the local theater here in town and was reminded how much I enjoy story-telling songs. I've been thinking about this for the last couple of days as Nathan and I have visited some of Ben's material from the 90's. And it was with these thoughts that I took on this album. In short, it was hard to get through. The music honestly wasn't bad. But the lyrics? Ugh. Boring, meaningless drivel. I think at one point she said 'he likes to be in Lake Charles because he loves Lake Charles.' Another droned on about concrete and barbed wire without subtle metaphor or meaning - like literally those things. I'm far from well educated musically but at least try to have some nuance. Maybe it was nuanced and I just missed it on a first and only listen. But no way I am going back to give it another chance. I want to rate it a 1 but that is reserved for the truly, all-around awful. This one deserves something for the quality of the music. 2/5.

Prima voor achtergrond maar niet bijzonder.

Ja oke’ish, bietje saai

Had er niet zoveel mee

It pretends it's "not just country" but it's country, like a Seabrook is "more than a crisp"

I just dont care for country

не люблю такое, 2.5 можно отжалеть

First three songs were pretty strong- really enjoyed 2 kool 2 be forgotten. Then it just...trails off, I got bored, and couldn't do it anymore, none of it was particularly bad, just became bland.

I just don't really like country Favorite song: right in time

She seems like quite a cool lady, but I found her vocals annoying (overly languid and lethargic) and the songs were only okay at best. The title track was probably my favourite. I can't say I know whether she's a significant figure on the country music scene, I hadn't heard of her before.

Not a huge fan. Some recognizable tunes but she stales out so frequently

Some songs I found were okay but most of them I found generic and a little annoying:(

2 Mediokre 2 Ekceed 2-Stars

ok bon de la country

The most inoffensive, non groundbreaking 90s alt country album I’ve ever heard. Nothing on it is bad but what is the point of including this on the list? I gained nothing musically from this and lost 50 minutes to an okay album that I’m sure could be topped by a variety of local bands in my area.

"Lazy" (or "feigned lazy") vocals will always work better with female vocals than with male. Compare them to the singing of average-level British punk output, and this'll win every time. Williams's vocal gives off a thick air of country, and if there was any doubt, the other instruments seal the deal. Definitely a hint of alt-era rock added to the mix, too, with the drumming and guitar. Not a fan of the slide guitar. It's perhaps the most overused instrument of all time relative to how good it sounds. We start off on the right foot with Right In Time, a positive, laid-back yet energetic bopper. The rock-solid title track follows, featuring a You're thinking, "Okay, this is good. As long as the other tracks don't sound exactly like this, as long as there's enough musical variety to convince us Williams is impressive and a boundary-pusher for the year 1998, this album should be pretty great." And then the rest of the album plays. All dreams are dashed. The world turns grey. The 5-minute Lake Charles and mind-numbingly simple/repetitive Greenville represent the very worst of this issue. After a slew of tracks like this, Can't Let Go acts as an abrupt breath of fresh air. Light, breezy, airy energy, making use of a more acoustic sound than previous songs. The use of a fast 12-bar blues progression is (almost) always a win. Great guitar solo. 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten might be the dumbest song title in any entry on this list. At least so far. But it sounds pretty good – those quiet organs add a lot of personality and expression – so it gets a (begrudging) pass. Much later on the album, after the extremely dull track pairing Greenville / Still I Long For Your Kiss, we get the excellent Joy, with guitar-vocal imitation galore, a complex texture, multiple lead guitars going at once, a much rockier and more interesting song... Everything about Joy glows, making it easily the best song on the album. The fact that Williams is capable of this makes some of the earlier stuff a lot more frustrating in retrospect. 2/5 Key tracks: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, Can't Let Go, Joy

Another of those artists I’ve heard of but mostly never heard before, except one song which used to play often at an old job of mine. I tried to not let my antipathy toward country music influence this listen-thru. But this album lost me very quickly and couldn’t get me back. The title track, the SECOND track, is written so poorly it actually made me angry. Just a lists of a bunch of things that are supposed to evoke nostalgia, sung over repetitive, basic riffs. And to top it all off, the phrase that is the title of the track and album is repeated 18 times! And mostly in pseudo-chorus at the end of each verse. It’s like “if I keep pushing this button the emotions will come out.” There is some good guitar on a lot of these tracks and that zydeco-influenced accordion that was kind of popular in the 90’s. That’s all I can really say it has going for it. The good will I had going into this was thrown out almost immediately. I had no more patience left for simplistic song structure, repetitive lyrics, or twang. BTW, the word you’re looking for is “tires.”

this is boring mediocre country music written for people living somewhere mediocre in america, of which there seem to be rather a lot.

3.5/10 - Pretty boring.

There's something about Lucinda Williams' voice that I don't quite trust. It feels like she's faking it. And these songs aren't that good either.

I’m sure she’s a great songwriter, but I just don’t like music like this

I'm really bad with country I liked 2 cool to be 4 gotten but its 4 AM and she talken about some concrete and barbed wire. This did not change my mind about the genre and idk if i'd keep listening to it

# Album Name: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road # Artist: Lucinda Williams # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Its a big no from me. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? No

I've successfully resisted this record for some time given how it adopts clarity and transparency as hallmarks of its sound. Every note is clear and well-placed. The pace is measured. It's an articulate album that is oriented towards the listener in ways I'm suspicious of. Generally, I've always felt like I did not have the patience for Lucinda Williams' brand of mid-tempo folk, country, and rock. And while this much polish tends to make my skin crawl, I have a begrudging respect for her craft and will confess to liking this record more on my first complete listen than I expected. There is enough emotional content in her voice to interest me at least once as she journeys on her gravel road.

I'm not normally a country fan, but I kind of liked the mix of folk and country in this album (I read it referred to as alternative country in my research). The musical arrangements are simple and not cluttered, which allows Lucinda's voice to be high in the mix. Her voice is not super fantastic and show-offy, but it does justice to the lyrics. The album is more standard country after the first few songs, my favorite of which was "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road". My other personal highlights included "Right In Time" and "Drunken Angel".

Now I can tell this is an above average country blues album. Not really my thang though, although I don’t hate country (anymore). Drunken Angel was my favorite song, I will say - great, introspective lyrics.

Meh.

tentei ouvir, chato tipo os youngbloods e o ryan adams lá essa lista enfia álbum pouco reconhecido por ser ruim e antigo pra ter cult status 2/10 pela ordinariedade

Is this what people had to listen to before Taylor Swift?

Een fijn nummer voor de rest was het meh

generic

Not fast enough for line dancing aka the only way I’ll tolerate country music

I just didn't find it that interesting. It didn't stand out that much. "Ranked No. 98 on the 2020 revision of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Really?? I don't get it

I am so happy that I was able to listen to this album before I die. I've been searching my entire life for an album that consist of 13 identical songs that have no pulse and the singer just repeats the title of the song ad nauseam. Every song here is like 3:30 to 4:00, but they all feel like 8 to 10 minutes long. I guess I am being a little harsh, Can't Let Go and Joy have a little bit of energy and soul behind them, but besides that this album is an incredibly boring slog to sit through. mid 2.

Not my type of country

It just blends in with the wall

There’s a lot to not like here.

Didn’t do anything for me. A bit too mainstream and bland

Lidt anonymt -- ikke den slags country som *virkelig* virker for mig, men heller ikke den slags der virkelig *ikke* virker for mig

Well that sounded like car wheels on a gravel road...

iets beter dan de gemiddelde country plaat... maar zoals alle country: goed voor één liedje, niet voor een hele plaat... daarvoor zijn alle nummers te inwisselbaar

It’s good but there’s something in the pitch that hurts the ear

So so Americana. Sounds like a drunk Sheryl Crow. Not for me. The cover of Can't Let Go by Robert Plant and Alicia Kraus is good though.

random singer songwriter album. idk. 2.5.

Dollar Tree Sheryl Crow.

its country and western. nice enough

Meh

Country ahhh Helt miderino

I'm convinced only people born in the United States can enjoy this kind of music. The rest of us just nod and smile and wait until it's over so we can listen to literally anything else.

Meh

I was not familiar with Lucinda Williams and, like other reviewers, I was amazed to learn how critically acclaimed this album was. What on earth was going on in 1998? The music is perfectly pleasant but completely unremarkable.

Not a fan.

nice, not my style

Not very fair for the site to generate this the day after blonde on blonde. Reading that this album took 6 years in the studio is mad but makes sense. The whole thing seems overly polished and a little cold.

like good. its just not my type of folk/singer-songwriter. wasn't too catchy in my eyes and could be more blunt w some songwriting

Did not get why this is here, incredibly generic country, some ok bluegrass twang to a couple of the tracks but overall very bland

bruh tf are they even talkin about

pretty but boring

Fine, just fine.

As a restaurant backgroud music, why not. For my taste, yep no.

Immediately sounded exactly how I thought it would based on the album cover. Generic country. For some reason the vocals change completely in "Concrete And Barbed Wire"? She gains a much stronger accent and starts doing little vocal frills on the high notes. Overall the vocals are decent, Lucinda has a good enough voice, but this music is just so generic. There's some electric guitar, but every song on this album just sounds the same, and sounds like every other modern country song ever. Find the drawl a bit irritating. The lyrics are dull and repetitive. The music is dull and repetitive. Lucinda's voice is fine. I want to go have a nap now, having listened to the same boring country track 13 times.

Nothing special imo. 2.5 stars

Haven't heard of her before. Well it seems for this album she took vibes and ideas from all the popular solo female rock artists of the 90s and turned them into a nothingburger country-ish album. I'd rather be listening to Bitch by Meredith Brooks 2/5

Overall, I found it a bit boring and quite generic and the vocals just weren’t for me (I hated them), the lyrics were okay in the first half of the album but in the latter half (I’m not sure if I was just incredibly bored by then) it was like listening to the most inclusive/non-specific, inauthentic TS album. Maybe it was really revolutionary for its time and I’m missing something but it just wasn’t for me. Also this is silly but I hate the use of numbers in lieu of words so the title of “2 Kool 2 be 4-Gotten” irritates me, I don’t care if it’s irony.

What a snooze fest. This is the type of music that gives me nothing.

I tried, I really did but I’m sorry, I just find country music (especially this type) just very uninteresting and boring.

Instrumentally it’s not the worst but the lyrics and her voice are straight up not it. I didn’t enjoy it on my listen and played snippets of songs for my poor wife and I saw her soul leaving her body.

Unoriginal country. The lyrics are alright.

Lacks energy. Forgettable. I should like this more, but I genuinely don't think it's that good.

2/5

these are actually great songs but I do not like the mix or her voice so I won’t be listening to them

This is what Nashville chick song writing sounds like. Doesn't make you feel anything.

Bof un peu trop toujours la même chose …

Lucinda Williams has a lovely voice that works well for country music. She has more of an old country style that wasn’t common in 1998. However, I just wasn’t into it. Yes, the album flowed and I enjoy country, especially the old stuff, but I wasn’t feeling it. Not awful, but enough that I don’t know why this is here.

Not great. Kinda sounds like Sheryl Crow if she was more country and also wasn’t a good musician.

This was just dull. I don't expect interesting musicianship on a country record but I do expect decent vocals and I just didn't find them here.

Review - The songwriting is objectively pretty good but it's slicker than I like Americana and poppier than I like country. Rating - 3.5/10 Need to hear? NO

It just sort of bobs along like a country album does, not entirely shit but not terribly engaging. I guess to some this is a great album but to me, about 12 hours after listening to it, there’s nothing memorable about it.

country albums are not always my thing, i like more modern country more but probably good for its time

Peter and Quagmires last country album when noone would listen anymore.

A somewhat average singer-songwriter folk album, with a generous dash of country mixed in. Now, of course, that's a property that sets it apart from the rest of somewhat average singer-songwriter folk albums, but it's still country, so in the end I'd say does more harm than good. 2.5/5

This was really boring

Quite mellow but nice background music nevertheless.

I don't care for country music. This is fine, but I can't get through it.

There's a Sheryl Crow-like inflection in her voice that I just don't get.

Some songs are catchy, but some songs are downright insufferable. Most feel like they run too long.

There’s some good songwriting on display here, but all together it added up to a dreary mid-tempo listen which never got me out of the slump it put me into. I was very bored of hearing about her ex by the end!

Not seeing the appeal here. Comes across to me as a fairly mediocre country album.

Never heard of this before but it sounds like Lucinda may have taken some influence from Shania Twain and the poppier edges of country music at the time. Having not heard her previous output it’s hard to know who influenced who but this album feels far from essential.

Album oubliable et neutre de modern country numéro 12389748923

Americana / Alternative Country. Not really my style of music, but I've heard worse. Couldn't make up my mind about the title track - I liked the music, but as on other tracks her voice annoyed me.

2.5 - Meh

Not a fan of this album. As critically acclaimed as it is, the production has a weird dynamic thing going on, the lyrical content and style is kind of annoying, and I just am not a fan of the sound of William's voice I guess. 2/5

Boring Sheryl Crow-core 2/5

Not a country fan.

It's probably in the nature of things that not all songwriters are brilliant singers. In my opinion, however, that's no reason for so many singer-songwriters to ruin their songs with extremely restrained, thin, and whiny vocals—especially when they subsequently show that they're actually quite good singers. As a result, the opening track “Right in Time” starts off rather off-putting for my taste—it sounds a bit like Soul Asylum, but without any edge. Since Lucinda Williams definitely doesn't lack talent, she's probably just striving for a sound ideal that I don't share. “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” is therefore actually a good album, but one that I don't particularly like.

not 4 me

Nah, not really my jam

Sounds like a parody of country…

She sounds like someone. Can't think who. About as entertaining as the title suggests but not unpleasant.

Not terrible but it is middle of the road stuff. Pretty boring stuff. 2/5.

2.1 The first 3 songs or so are not terrible. Then it just turns out to shite country. The vocal style in Concrete.. sounds like nails on a chalk board to me. Country is one of America's worst exports, and they've inflicted some pretty terrible atrocities on the world. Please make it stop. 200 albums to go, surely there can't be many more country ones left.

Perfect for falling asleep on a plane to. I won't go back to the ones I slept through.

Not my jam.

Fin countrymusikk, typisk sånn at jeg sikkert facineres veldig hivs jeg hører tett mange ganger etter hverandre. Men totalt sett ved gjennomhøring er det liksom helt okei, så det blir 2 stjerner

Okay starts off kinda country dull slop. lyrics a bit descriptive. This just sounds a bit try hard. The vocals seem like an affectation. Overall its just dull.

Country flavoured singer/songwriter pop with no outstanding qualities. On a 50 minute album as well. I was extremely borde listening to this. By track 4 I thought I was halfway through. It turned out I wasn’t. Not unpleasant though, so an extra star for that.

90s female singer songwriter but make it vaguely country. This was fine. The titular song was maybe the worst. Repetitive and boring.

The more country tunes were just alright IMO (background music at best). I liked the more rockin songs. Cant Let Go and I Lost It were my favorites. Not noteworthy, but not terrible

Quite dull and unimpressive.

Pretty unremarkable country right here.

ok, nice voice, but pretty boring country arrangments

This feels like a parody album at times. ChatGPT, make an American country album...

95/1089 Started off kinda well, i liked the first track and the next few were nice, if not my faves. Then Concrete and Barbed Wire comes along and immediately takes me out of it completely. The overly-affected southern accent was so off-putting and the vibe was killed for me so i liked the first song and last song (Right in Time and Jackson) otherwise all the songs blended together and were really not for me 2 stars 24/100

This just really wasnt my thing.

I'm a little torn here, cause this is a case of some good artistry and craftsmanship that just isn't my thing. I appreciate it, but it's just not something I think I'd ever reach for.

Found this a bit dull - not for me

At this point you’ve really got to question what the criteria for getting on this list is. This sounds like a poorer version of early 90s Sheryl Crow and any album that has a track titled “2 kool 2 Be 4-Gotten” needs to get in the bin.

No standouts

Dull

Voice sounds scratchy, music is fine, not fan of the voice

No entiendo porqué este álbum está en la lista. Extremádamente genérico y poco inspirado. Ni la voz ni la música tienen algo especial. Me da lástima decirlo porque tampoco creo que sea un mal álbum, musical y técnicamente hablando está bien, pero es demasiado tibio. Tal vez es simplemente una estética que no entiendo, pero a grandes rasgos me pareció un álbum irrelevante.

Sometimes boring, sometimes quite nice. Some songs sound like an off-brand country version of PJ Harvey. I really thought this was going to be some lofi indie based on the cover and name tbh. Title track is probably the worst song on this album, I think drunken angel might've been my favorite? Idk

Intro had me ready for Mary Chapin Carpenter. This fell short.

Americana is not my thing. I'm conflicted cuz they mention a lot of places I grew up near, but it's really not my thing.

General thoughts: Most songs go full country cliche, same with the lyrics. There are a couple of songs that add a spice of pop, or folk, or even a kinda christian-music tune. First two songs actually made me think this could be actually decent only to nosedive completely. I'm more of a Johnny Cash kind of Country, never been into the more recent developments of the genre. Boring to the core. Outstanding song(s): Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Worst song(s): Particularly- Concreate and Barbed Wire Cover: Simple but it expresses the general feeling of the album Real rating: 1.80

2 hours of country? FFS.... Overdriven Telcasters and a twangy voice. Hank Marvin references, lots of clichés. Its albums like this that make me appreciative of the good things I have in my life. Honestly sounds like a version of Sheryl Crow that I don't particularly like. Musically its great tho, just too derivative and generic.

Boring, late-90s singer-songwriter chick rock with a country flair.

Other than the track "Joy", I definitely didn't hate it, but this did absolutely nothing for me. I'm not the target audience for this, and that's ok. Definitely competent for what it is.

Everyone involved with this record seems bored. The band is basically sleep walking through every song. Her voice is nice but she doesn’t stretch it or do anything interesting with it.

I don't like Country Music. This is no exception.

Its Ok. But essentially if you give me an album with songs of Shania Twain, Lucinda and Sherryl Crow and tell me to name whoch song is who's, I will fail miserably

Country

This album cover is vaguely familiar. I think I may have seen it around before, though I’m confident I’ve never heard a Lucinda Williams song. Guess I have nothing else to do but get into this album. Yup, country. About what I was expecting. That, or midwest emo. This album is a good enough time. Very easygoing and stripped back, though there isn’t too much going on under the hood. Williams is a decent vocalist and the instrumentals are competent across the board, yet there’s something deeply stale and “rigid” about this music which fails to resonate much with me. On to the music. “2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten" is an insane title for a country song, but it isn’t half bad. I like the guitars in the background, and Williams’ vocals are pretty alright. Very dreamy – I like em. “Drunken Angel” has a very 90s vocal style, though I’m not complaining. The instrumental isn’t good too, especially around the chorus. “Joy” is a fun song. I dig the songwriting and vocals. Checking the book for why this is in here. “... as flawless a work of songcraft and record production as has appeared in the last ten years.” Biiiiiiiig call. An album that gets better with repeat listens. Consulting Wikipedia reveals that this album is massively acclaimed, decently successful and won a Grammy. Hmm. Not convinced by this inclusion. I think I’ll give it the snub. In place of this album, I humbly submit The Magnolia Electric Co. by Songs: Ohia. A good example of a modern, kickass country album

#DÍA 28: 1001 Discos Que Hay Que Escuchar Antes De Morir (English Translation Below) Vaya, porras, otro álbum de Country. He intentado escuchar este de un modo más optimista dado que se trata de una mujer en los 90s, así que pensé que podría ser más atrevido de lo que he escuchado dentro del género. Lucinda Williams presenta aquí una serie de canciones de Country Alternativo y de Americana que, aún pecando estilísticamente de ser algo monótonas, son salvables, principalmente por el enfoque personal que da en gran parte del LP. Algo que espero escuchar en un proyecto de country es que el artista aporte su visión, sus vivencias, sus sentimientos, a partir de narraciones basadas en la cultura rural y los paisajes de su país, algo que en ocasiones termina cayendo en estereotipos y con poca profundidad emocional, pero bien hecho puede ser fantástico (Véase mi reseña de Hejira de Joni Mitchell). En el tema de apertura Lucinda canta con bastante sinceridad acerca de su sexualidad, con un acompañamiento de Country Rock sólido que da un inicio bastante decente y prometedor líricamente al álbum. Algo que se mantiene en la siguiente pista, la canción homónima, que trata sobre los paralelismos que la cantante encuentra entre su vida actual y los recuerdos de su infancia, viajando de un lugar pobre a otro en coche. 2 Kool 2 be 4-Gotten es un buen homenaje a un local de música del que Lucinda guardaba fotografías, llegas a sentirte algo nostálgico por el lugar. Las letras con contenidos interesantes se mantienen presentes, como el recuerdo de un viejo amante en Lake Charles o la reflexión acerca del deseo de encontrarte con aquel que extrañas en Concrete and Barbed Wire. En sí la primera mitad del LP es bastante sólida, pero en la segunda mitad comienza a flojear mucho en las letras y las instrumentales no mejoran. Parece perder la personalidad progresivamente, con canciones cuyas letras se alejan más y más de las vivencias personales para simplemente expresar sentimientos comunes en los que toda la audiencia pueda verse reflejada. Ejemplos de ello son Still I Long for Your Kiss o Joy, que empiezan a ser ya demasiado repetitivas estéticamente también. Acaba cayendo en los estereotipos que me temo en la canción Jackson, la cual en concepto puede parecer interesante —ilustrar el proceso de pasar por una ruptura a lo largo de un viaje— pero termina siendo sólo una canción que hace poco más que simplemente nombrar lugares para romantizarlos de forma barata. Es respetable, termina bastante mal para mi gusto pero tampoco es un álbum que me ofenda o que no pueda escuchar. Es interesante leer las vivencias de Lucinda Williams pero hasta ahí empieza y termina mi interés real por este disco. También es un género de música con el que suelo conectar más bien poco por ahora, siento ser tan despectivo con el mismo pero es que no puedo parar de pensar en lo ridículas que serían las letras si se cambiasen los nombres por lugares de España… Albacete, Robregordo, Ibeas de Juarros… En fin. Favoritas: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, 2 Kool 2 be 4-Gotten Menos favorita: Jackson

The music equivalent of a plate of beige food

I'm not one to have the mindset "all country music sucks" but this certainly makes me feel otherwise. It's only saving grace is that I've heard worse. 2 Kool

Mum, can we get Sheryl Crowe? No, we have Sheryl Crowe at home.

Nu uh

A western crashout

Uninspiring and dull. I didn't like her voice, although some of the music wasn't too awful. Two stars.

Though charming at first I found her to be a little grating towards the end. The mix felt a tad weak somehow?

YAY A WOMAN! I have had to do a little bit of research into this album, a I'm aware there's some lore behind this, and wanted to be somewhat clued up before reviewing. Aside from the often deeply dark lyrics, Williams’ voice is reminiscent of Dylan’s. It’s beautifully flawed, she doesn’t have a huge range, although she does have plenty of power to call on when needed. Personally what really did stand out to me when listening to this album, is the emotional journeys that Williams manages to portray with a series of stunning songs. (I love a storytelling album). Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the standout of this album, is the strength and beauty of Lucinda Williams lyrics as she conjures up the imagery of life along those dusty, two-lane southern country highways. I enjoyed ! I love women ! - 3/5 - HF xo New album day shows a very southern, country esc vibe to it. Lyrically this album does well to tell a story, though Williams vocal range is limited, it's exactly how it needs to be to tell the emotional tales it does. Whether it's the sense of longing in Right in Time, Concrete and Barbed Wires speaking of life's many painful obstacles in many forms and Can't Let Go about hanging onto a failed relationship unable to actually let it go (oh look at me relating to that, kill me). One of my personal favourites is Drunken Angel, speaking of the life of Blaze Foley, a musician who I enjoy quite a bit who died quite tragically. Overall this album has a great sound to it, whether it be almost pillow soft acoustic guitar chords or ripping slide guitar backed by tight sounding drumlines, I'd happily give this album another go around. 2.8/5 MTW

Not bad, considering I don't really like country. 2*, since I'm never going to listen to this again.

Pretty bland. Listenable, but bland.

You know, I was ready to dismiss this album as modern country trash. Then I heard the first song and thought that I might actually enjoy this album. But then, somehow it got worse as it progressed and I now just dismiss it as modern country trash. The songs, god, how many of them does Lucinda just repeat the title over and over again? And Lucinda is borderline monotone on some of these songs. There are shades of a good album here, hence why it gets spared from a one-star. But all that’s here is just mediocre. Favorite track: Right In Time Other hits: I Lost It

Is this all the same song over again?

Sounds like KT Tunstell. Lol or Sheryl Crow. She’s cool tho- I liked it

Sounds about two or three years past the prime years for this kind of sound, so not sure why it's on this list. It's decent for the style of Americana folkish rock, though. I'm just glad it's not all country, as the name kind of suggested. Just near country, somewhere along the spectrum between Tom Petty and Dolly Parton. 2/5

I am not in the mood for this one. To follow Emerson, Lake, and Palmer with this is a travesty. I actually did not like this at any point in the album. I was happy when it ended. I didn't like the boring music, or her voice. I found myself getting more anxious as the album went on. I kept checking to see when it was going to be over, and I was disappointed every time until it was finally over. Lyrics were well written, so that will take this to a 2. Sorry, it just wasn't for me, and not on this day.

basic and boring

I guess this is country pop? Mellow sounding and a bit bland.

It’s not bad but it’s not great. Kind of reminds me of the sort of CD npr would send you as a thank you to donating.

Pretty basic country songs. Not as bad as some reviews are making out, but hardly exciting enough to make the list either in my opinion.

Hræðilegt

Good country twang, but became fairly monotonous.

Not being a fan of country, it's a bit too twangy for me, too much Americana. In spite of that, I feel like this is a more accessible country record that others in this list, like Steve Earle's Guitar Town (who is a producer here). The record also feels a bit flat, like it never really turns the energy up from the slow Americana ballad. Her songwriting is very good though, she's a good storyteller. Her lyrics feel personal and her singing makes it feel more emotional. "Lake Charles" is the best example of this, as Williams sings about the death of her ex. Musically, the best for me was "Still I Long For Your Kiss", which was a bit more lively and has a fun guitar solo.

Overall: 4/10 While there are some good moments on here, I found it pretty underwhelming overall. The big highlight is the lyrics. I think if the instrumentals were better I'd enjoy this more but I found them bland, especially the drums. Not for me. Fav Song: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten (what a dumb 90s name) Least Fav Song: Greenville

Basically a taste of what would become the downfall of country music

I’m not averse to a bit of Americana and I initially had high hopes for this album - songs like the title track and one called Barbed Wire and Concrete have a gritty, Springsteen-esque feel to them. However, the reality fell somewhat short - it’s fairly by the numbers alt-country stuff, with barely a fiddle or banjo to be heard. There’s also a car crash of a production process detailed on the wiki page, with 90% of the songs being scrapped and a falling out with her long time producer.

This sounds like very cliché American country music. And it is pretty forgettable, nothing is really outstanding here. Doesn't hate it but this is boring.

7/1001. Many of my friends have said that recently they listen to mostly country music. Well screw them! ;) Ok, jokes aside. As a matter of fact I do own one Lucinda Williams cd, her voice is great and songs are simple enough. But thats maybe the problem - too simple songs – for me nothing really stands out here, and to call this album a masterpiece, or that it should be included in the list of albums one should hear before they die is just too much for my musical taste. Mellow and smooth and sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but hey, so are millions of other albums as well. Blame me for not understanding country & western and I'll go drink one for you. When I get to Inari I don't think I miss this record that much. Or even remember any of its songs.

It was fine, but nothing I’ll ever think about again.

Lethargic, dull, uninspired. She sounds drunk and half asleep. The lyrics are the caliber you'd expect from an amateur at an open mic night on a Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A low-rent Sheryl Crow, at least she sounds like a real person and not a 50-foot tall pop monstrosity, but that's the most praise I can give.

This is an album I really want to like and have tried many times to enjoy, the title track is really good, the production and feel of the album are great but the songs themselves leave me flat.

Pretty generic country pop. There's nothing that would make me spin this one again.

On folk/country/rock category thai album is easy listening. Still slightly boring

I really didn’t care for this. It felt like Courtney Love mixed with Sheryl Crow, but lacking the talent of both. I did like “Joy” so I saved that one for my playlist.

Yesterday I got Waylon Jennings album and thought “hey, maybe i was wrong about country all along”. I wasn’t. Not my genre

This is well made, but it just seems somewhat average. Not something that will really stick with me. Something I likely wouldn’t notice being on at a bar. The backing instrumentals were good. My favorite songs were Drunken Angel and Can’t Let Go.

some very good songs but overall not very exciting

I thought this was okay, the last song was the best, but it was all quite samey.

Boring. That is all

Car wheels on a gravel road.. off the side of a cliff.

Could not cet into it

Sad story: British man forced to listen to country music. Not bad but did not like.

Concrete and borbdwarr

Whatever? Not really that impressive to be honest

..

I started to type something snarky like. "Where else would the car wheels be?" But then I remembered that cars do better on asphalt.

It's forgettable country

Shite, twee country bollocks.

I recognized two songs on here probably from radio play back in the day. I wanted to like it more but her vocals really left something to be desired.

Meh.

Ja....

De los típicos ''chabona le canta a la ruta'' esta es la más rescatable... y eso es mucho decir porque igual no me gustó mucho. Nota: 2.6

Not the best country/folk album. Found it boring and annoying at times. Would not like to return to it.

Garbage alternate country. Couldn't imagine a scenario where I'd want to listen to this. Not backpacking, not riding a horse, not driving down a dirt road in a pickup truck, and certainly not doing anything else where I wouldn't want my day ruined. Only thing keeping it from a 1 Star is how truly awful some other albums are.

More country, class. I think I did genuinely like about 15% of this, there were bits of songs that were more indie than country where Lucinda's voice suited the song. By and large though, usual tropes, some very obvious rhymes and just a generally well trodden sound.

Never heard of Lucinda and I was worried when I saw it was country... However, I will say this perhaps had a bit more to it than some of the country we've had. Don't get me wrong, there were large parts of it that were really unimaginative and dull, but there was the odd bit that wasn't too bad..... Perhaps I've just been watching too much Yellowstone?

Country with a tinge of 90's indie rock. This was fine, but there is a good reason I've never heard of this.

ээ ну это звучит как оно и ожидается, как современный кантри альбом, хз, может для американцев, которые в целом любят кантри и хотят продолжение жанра это ок, но мне ваще побоку. голос реально звучит странно, не в миксе как будто да и иногда не очень звучит хорошо по нотам… везде одинаковые соло, и барабанные сбивки, блин ее голос бы хорошо подошел для какого то альтернативного рока… 3 песня даже более менее, дранкен ангел тоже прик пока не появляется гармошка. она конечно дает вайба алекса жи, но все еще вайб кантри