Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

It was okay for sure

It’s okay. Not really my thing

Started stronger than it finished. Perfectly pleasant, but not a memorable or exciting listen for me.

Middle of the road

2.5

Right off the bat I don't like her voice. I enjoyed the instrumentation but couldn't get past the vocals

I incredibly enjoyed it

Goddamn this fucking rules. When I started listening to this I was wondering to myself why is this #98 on the R*lling St*one (derogatory) list of all time best albums, but man oh man, I kept on listening and kept on loving what I was hearing

Love her

LOVED

I’d never heard of this lady until today, but I actually think it sounds quite nice. Three stars...

Great album, loved most the songs. Never listened to her until this album and she is a great storyteller and song writer.

Exceptional!

3.5

I like this album - released after Sheryl Crow's biggest albums but Lucinda is the innovation, Sheryl the borrower. Never disliked Lucinda but I'd actually agree this was an album I did need to listen to before I died.

good

On a KBCO Studio C album … yeah, 5 stars

Nothing much of note to say about this album. A Dixie chicks cover of this could hit

Exquisite. This is one of those albums I'd always intended to get around to listening to.

(7/7) I thought this was quite a refreshing change of pace - a good dose of "country" genre with enough other influences to be musically interesting

Much better than expected. I liked her style. Ok, it's country, but it's got some blues, and harmonicas all right. Not bad at all. 3/5.

I don’t think alt country exists as a genre without Lucinda Williams.

booooooring country

무난

It was alright, a little too nasally, and whiney for my tastes, but I didn’t have to skip any tracks so tolerable at least. Don’t understand the raves though.

Sounds like how I remember the 90s

The Good: Nothing... The Bad: The Fucking Title... The Ugly: The fucking voice... note how I stopped capsing things on top? What the fuck did I just listen to? And is this really something that needs to be listened to before I die? The only thing that is positive about this album is that those who hate country can justify their hatred for the genre... but then again, this is not typical for the CW genre, is it? I can't be bothered to write anything more about this waste of my time... 1*

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Wanna be Sheryl Crow...

Verrassend...

Country snooze fest

I had a really hard time making myself listen to this. I wore it out about 30 years ago and then just stopped listening to her and this album. It's pretty and dirty and a really good CD. It surprised me in a good way.

it's actually a 3 but I'm deducting one star for the title of "2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten"

Album #221: Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I love her unashamedly and unabashedly. I think she’s great. I think she’s a wonderful songwriter, and I’ve been a fan of hers for as long as I can remember. I really like country music. I grew up in a house playing all kinds of what my dad would call proper country music, and Lucinda Williams was in our rotation. As a teenager, I would have rebelled against it, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve grown to appreciate it as a genre. And I think this is not only one of the best country albums of the ‘90s, I think it’s one of the best country albums ever made. You can call it alt-country if you want. I don’t know what the difference is sometimes. She’s just a great lyricist. It’s an album of romanticism, self-pity and longing. But that’s country. That’s a hallmark of country. Sexual longing is totally rampant on this album. Take Right in Time, maybe my favourite ever song about sex. Her vocal performance on it, and how the song stretches and moves with the lyrics, is just so good. This thing sounds huge. It’s got big production values and big drums. The drums sound amazing when they come in. But it’s not some sort of shite stadium-rock country. It’s powerful enough to be in a stadium, but intimate enough to be in a bar somewhere. It’s just a great, great-sounding album. It’s not the grittiest thing in the world. It does have a bit of polish, but it’s all the better for it, I think. It toes the line perfectly. She’s got an all-star cast behind her. You’ve got Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Jim Lauderdale and Charlie Sexton on it. And actually, for the first time listening to this album, I drew a comparison between this and Dylan’s Love and Theft, which came later. I think that might be down to Charlie Sexton and the band. Love and Theft is one of Dylan’s best albums, and I think this has that same big, lively sound. There are no real dirges on this album. There are slow songs. There are a few mournful songs. But every song has a spark of life in it, especially the ones led by the band. There’s an energy underneath it that’s undeniable, and I think a lot of that comes down to the character and charisma of Lucinda herself. She’s a wonderful, emotive singer. And if you read into the backstory of this, she was apparently a pain in the arse to work with because she was such a perfectionist. You can tell she’s doing her absolute best. She’s giving her best possible vocal performance on every song. And there are so many hooks. Little lyrical and melodic moments throughout the album that are just spine-tingling and uplifting. There can’t really be a dirge when the music is this powerful. It’s not without its flaws, even as a five-star album to me. I’m not a big fan of the raucous, KT Tunstall-style rock songs like Joy and Can’t Let Go. When I’m hearing those, I just want her to get back to the sad shit, because she sings it so well. And does she shite on about place names a bit too much? Yeah, a little bit. But I think that follows that old folk tradition of bringing an almost mystical quality to a place through a song. These songs just have such a timeless feel to them. I can understand why people don’t like it if they’re not into country music. I don’t think this is necessarily going to convert you. But, if you’re in the congregation, you’re gonna love it. And I do.

Har nog inte lyssnat på det albumet på 25 år, jag hade en bränd kopia. Så då tyckte jag onekligen det var rätt bra och det gör jag nog fortfarande. Absolut inget mästerverk, men väl utfört och trevligt. Det blir kanske lite mycket av samma rakt över, samma temperament, samma lunk men det är bra låtar överlag. Nöjer mig där och spikar trean

Finns många skivor med snyggt producerad countryrock - eller americana. LW gör det varken sämst eller bäst. Starkast avtryck på på den här grusvägen lämnar Greenville med bakgrundssång av Emmylou Harris, en röst det aldrig går att ta miste på, inte ens i bakgrunden.

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.

Singer-songwriter kan lätt bli urvattnat. Genren saknar ofta countrys svärta och sväng. I Lucindas fall har den musikaliska inramningen hämtat inspiration från blues, country och soul. Tyvärr blir resultatet inte alltid bättre av att blanda ingredienser som var för sig är utmärkta. I det här fallet låter det ofta snarare som ett urvattnat avkok snarare än en mustig soppa. Lucindas raspiga röst ger låtarna lite mer karaktär, även om det ibland ligger farligt nära en Joplin-parodi. Jag tycker andra halvan av albumet är betydligt bättre än den första. Vill särskilt lyfta fram Can't let go, I lost it och Still long for your kiss.

Ah another XPN favorite. They must have played this whole thing on repeat because I recognized almost every song and, while it was nostalgic, I still didn’t really need to hear it.

When you see the cover of this album I immediately thought new country. I wasn't far wrong although it is more rocky than I thought. I don't mind this style and can listen to it nothing new or particularly rousing.

Big nostalgic feels from this one -- this is very reminiscent of the music I listened to in late high school / early college.

Music for Americans to wear jeans to.

Almost like a parody. The quality of singing was also poor.

Straight down the fairway country rock album. Listenable and enjoyable, but its artistic merit seems to mostly derive from what it inspired ("alt country") rather than what it is.

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

3.5 if I could. Consistently great country the whole way through, but no real standout moments for me, either. So happy I’ve had the chance to see her live a few times. This was a good reminder to check out more of her discography!

A 3.5 if I could! I almost think that the deep tracks are better than the singles/more popular tracks. But I enjoyed this! Should listed to her more often. I see the inspiration for acts like MJ Lenderman and other Alt-Country acts today

***A good easy listening album

For me, there’s no wow songs on Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, but one thing that album has and some on others albums I’ve listened to since the beginning of the challenge don’t, it’s there’s no bad ones either. It’s an album that was consistent from beginning to end. 3/5. Right in Time: 3,5 Car Wheels on a Gravel Road: 3 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten: 3 Drunken Angel: 3,5 Concrete and Barbed Wire: 3 Lake Charles: 3,5 Can't Let Go: 4 I Lost It: 3.5 Metal Firecracker: 3 Greenville: 3 Still I Long for Your Kiss: 3,5 Joy: 3 Jackson: 3

The top reviews on this album are ADORABLE. "Is this really the best that modern country is capable of?!" Honey. Darling. My love, my angel. This is five trillion times better than "modern country." You would not last five fucking minutes listening to modern country. Modern country celebrates fucking "I'll Name the Dogs," you silly little thing. You think you have power here? I promise you, you don't. You would tap out in twenty seconds, you would BEG for the harmless toothlessness of Lucinda Williams. BEG. I promise. Where I live, country music is very popular, and I've hated it for my entire life, so whenever this site gives me a country album I go "oh god, fuck me I guess, I'll listen to a few tracks and then skip the rest," which I don't do with anything except country and a certain other genre that I won't mention here. I say all of this to say that this is a dangerously listenable album. It's not strictly country, which is why, I suppose. The vocals are pretty good and aren't the typical dogshit country warbling you hear most of the time with these. Though with country music, I "prefer" female vocalists generally speaking, as much as I'd be choosing between rat poison and regular poison. Anyway, this is a fine album. I'm never going to listen to it again, probably, but this listen's fine. I'm being the nicest I'll ever be and giving it a 3 for being country album good enough for me to not immediately want to rip my ears off.

I appreciate the album. I have friends who adore her and am happy to hear what they hear.

It's an ok country album.

3.4, really nice albulm cover, not the biggest fan of country

Favorite tracks: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, I Lost It, Jackson

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?

I gather Lucinda William had been going since the end of the seventies. If this 1998 album represents her commercial zenith, it is probably because it sounds faintly like alternative rock and alternative rock was starting to grow faint by then. Too established to be cool, but just cool enough to be worth stealing from. It sounds alright. Pleasant songs, pleasant singing. More Lilith Fair than Liz Phair. McGreevy-core (or am I thinking of Dar Williams.) 2.5 This was very pleasant. Steady, tidy songwriting. A classy band, although if there is a spark here that could set your enthusiasm on fire for this album it could only be Lucinda’s voice and style of delivery. It didn’t quite happen for me but perhaps a few more listens would do it. There is everything to enjoy here and very little to engage with I reckon. The only specific thought I recall having was while listening to Metal Firecracker - it was that this is something like what Neil Young could have done if he was any good. 2.5/5

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.

#108 This is one of those albums that regularly shows up in my recommendations, and would appear to be one I'd enjoy. It's perfectly listenable, but it is kinda dull and takes no risks. I was already familiar with the title track and I Lost It, and it turns out the rest of the album is just more of the same. Highlights: Lake Charles, Metal Firecracker

Fine enough alt country rock album. Easy to listen to, if not terribly interesting for stretches. Starts strong, but loses steam fairly quickly. Perfectly whelming. Top tracks: Right in Time, 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten, Can't Let Go

This is a bore. Yawn

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

Thankfully not twangy country, so I ended up not hating it. Even so, it went on a bit too long

a great americana album. it's got jim lauderdale on it for godsh's sakes. opening track rules. title track rules. “drunken angel” rules. the only song i don't care for is "joy". it's like a weird little hick-hop thing. she doesn't quite pull it off. "2 kool 2 be 4-gotten" is a dumb title.

great album, cool country music

#148 Average track rating: 2.1 | FT: Can't Let Go | LFT: Concrete and Barbed Wire I had never heard of Lucinda Williams until this album cropped up! I like that it's clean production allows for the grit of her voice and song writing to shine. I *loved* "Can't Let Go". I rated 3 songs of 13 above a 2.5/5 - all three of which I really enjoyed - but the rest simply did not connect with me. I will say that I am a big fan, though, of how country music leans towards telling a story and I feel that this album achieves this brilliantly. I can imagine this hits harder when you are from America. Alas, I am not and this just didn't impact me much. Well made album but not my thing, however it will still get a 3 to 3.5 from me purely because, as a whole, this album works really well. ಄ Albums remaining: 941 ಄ Albums I agree with being on the list: 65 ಄ Albums I would consider for my list: 30 ಄ Albums I would not include on my list: 118

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

very 90s

I had to listen more than once. It grew on me. 3

Not really into country music, but this was okay. The last few songs were really good. Favourite Track(s): Jackson, Joy Least Favourite Track(s): Right in Time

This album has a lot of bangers, I feel like I'm definitely coming back to it. Y'all giving 2's should reevaluate

Great rough voice. The country sound is less my thing but nice storytelling.

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

3,92 1. "Right in Time" 2. "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" 3. "Greenville"

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.

really really boring i did not connect to this at all

Country, 1998 -> 2

3.25 Not my genre, but impressive for 1998. B-side is where it shines. Favorite tracks: 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten, Can't Let Go, Joy, Jackson Joy bumped it from 2 to 3 quickly.

All time great! Lake Charles - wow! 5/5

I'm enjoying this, i like her voice. i like 'i lost it'

Extremely repetitive, which isn't my favorite.

When you order Sheryl Crow off wish

Decent. But only decent.

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..

Um álbum mid bem executado. Agora, estar na lista de 1001 álbuns para escutar antes de morrer? Não sei se concordo, mas tudo certo.

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.

Over produced and a bit samey but that's country for ya. It's fairly pleasant and there are enough interesting touches and catchy rhythms that I can't knock it too bad.

I hadn’t pulled this album out for a listen in quite a while, and I must say that I had forgotten how enjoyable it is. It is both a departure and a return. Her first two albums were heavily blues-oriented, sold bupkis, and sank like stones. Her next two albums (including her excellent eponymous third album, containing the great single “Passionate Kisses”) were much more poppy affairs, with marginally improved sales. This album would probably get the dreaded Americana label, though that really wasn’t a thing so much when it came out. The songs have a slightly country feel (as befits a Louisiana gal), with touches of slide guitar and dobro, as well as accordion thrown in. There are a lot of bluesy guitar leads played down on the low strings. The songs themselves are simple without being simplistic. Vocally her plaintive alto does most of the heavy lifting, although there are some exquisite harmonies on several of the tunes. Not quite a five for me, but pretty damn close.

I hate country

Denne kom seg etterhvert.

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.

I loved everything about this album. Her voice is just so compelling. “Can’t Let Go” is an all time fave.

4/10

Listened to this previously and I just switched off. Not music for me, hence the 1

boring

1058 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

Never heard before. I've had a copy of World Without Tears for years and although I really like it I've never got round to hearing anything else she's done. So now I have. I liked it... probably not as much as WWT but that might just be because I'm not as familiar with the tracks. I'm definitely going to give it another listen at some point. 3 stars feels a bit mean... it's probably 3 and a half...but I suspect it's an album that needs a few listens to sink in and become a classic. Favourite tracks. Lake Charles and Greenville

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.