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| West | 
 enlarge | Artist: Lucinda Williams
Label: Lost Highway
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $7.87
You Save: $6.11 (44%)
New (51) Used (19) Collectible (1) from $7.59
Avg. Customer Rating:  177 reviews
Sales Rank: 1036
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 000693802
UPC: 602498583487
EAN: 0602498583487
ASIN: B000LXHGFI
Release Date: February 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 disappointing February 18, 2007
55 out of 67 found this review helpful
while I (largely) do not agree with the meat of D. Capshaw's review, there is quite the degree of truth in the title of that commentary. West is truly a "Good record for most," but "below average for her." I base this review, however brief it may be, on a firm footing for comparison that is built on not only my owning Car Wheels, but also every other album of her originals, minus Happy Woman Blues.
 SO OVERRATED!!!! March 6, 2007
52 out of 63 found this review helpful
I'm not sure why people are bending over backwards to applaud this mediocrity. I'm not sure why everyone talks about how "raw" it is. It sounds like a Norah Jones record. One more Dylan comparison and I'm gonna lose it. The opener is one of the most juvenile, repetitive, lame-rhyme songs I have ever heard:
Are you alright?
Is there something been bothering you?
Are you alright?
I wish you'd give me a little clue.
So intense. February 21, 2007
43 out of 47 found this review helpful
"West" is Lucinda's eighth studio album and simply quite brilliant. Nobody does that low-down dirty country blues like Lucinda, locking into a languid, aching groove and sending shivers down the spine of any living thing within range of that earthy vibrato.
Not that she is interested in staying within some country comfort zone, "Wrap My Head Around That" straying into uncharted territory.
It is not the first time she has slowed a lyric to spoken level, but this is a rhythmic bona fide country rap epic, a compelling narrative over nine minutes long, punctuated by snarling guitar chops and solos.
"Words" is another wise old tale written on that cracked parchment of a voice, wafting over an intoxicating melody.
She quotes her father, literature and poetry professor Miller Williams on West's sleeve notes: "You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone", and these songs are a product of an internal turmoil caused by her mother's death and an intense relationship that spectacularly crashed and burned.
Put brutally selfishly, Lucinda's loss is our gain, gut-wrenching songs like "Unsuffer Me" burn with the agony and ecstasy of "Essence", and "Fancy Funeral" has the rare power to reduce grown men and women to tears.
She has assembled a great band including Bill Frisell, Jim Keltner and her long-time guitarist, the superb Doug Petibone, who do ample justice to this scintillating set of songs.
I like it. You will be moved, to say the least.
Good reocrd for most, below avergage for Her. February 15, 2007
37 out of 53 found this review helpful
Ok, the jury is in for me on the new lucinda and i dont give it a great grade. For her i would say its her worst record to date (maybe equal to essence for me)....compared to other artists, though, it is still a solid outing, so i give it a C. Lucinda, like Dylan, has set an awful high standard for herself.
I dont think the songwriting is up to her standards and the music is not that compelling. "Are you alright" is tired sounding and unspectacular lyrically. What was she thinking with "fancy funeral"? very strange song. Seems an odd thing to go on about. How one chooses to memorialize their lost loved ones is a very personal decision. It just seems there are allot less seemingly judgmental things to protest in this day and age. Should we also protest big weddings, fancy confirmation parties and over the top bar mitzvahs?
"Come on" may be the lamest song on the record. Just silly and immature. What is she 17 years old again? I guess she really told him!
"What if" is again a clumsy song. Her juxtapositions just dont get it done for me. That song form is an old, tired and a well worn road. Her tread marks do little to improve the views on that road/genre of song.
"Wrap my head around that," pun on WRAP (rap), is just "ok."
However, there are some high notes: "Mama you sweet" is touching, the wordplay is solid and sweet. "Unsuffer me" is very good too. I also like "words" It may be the best song on the record
Poet or Musician? February 14, 2007
33 out of 53 found this review helpful
One cannot argue that Lucinda is a brilliant poet who bares her soul and shares her angst, freely. In this, she gets better and better. What long-time fans know, however, is that she can also be a brilliant musician, a studio perfectionist who can craft a meticulously rehearsed approach that sounds natural and spontaneous.
is it fair to compare all of her work to Car Wheels on a Gravel Road? Ultimately, yes. There, the music and the poetry came together like few pop artists have ever done. It's a twisted analogy, but West is to Car Wheels what Hissing of Summer Lawns is to Blue. Marginally better poetry, but lacking the delicate balance and sheer musicality. It's like Lennon after the Beatles -- raw, powerful, but less enjoyable.
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