Lucinda Williams World Without Tears
With his debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band from 1970, John Lennon gave us the first and, to this day, most poignant rock n roll self actualization album ever made.
Five years later Bob Dylan returned the favour with the greatest, most legendary break up album of all time, Blood on the Tracks from 1975.
Following her career jettisoning Car Wheels on a Gravel Road album from 1998, American wordsmith and Southern chanteuse Lucinda Williams wrote and recorded World Without Tears, the greatest break up album of all time from the woman’s perspective.
Bringing in Daniel Lanois producer Mark Howard, Williams secured talent with expansive credentials from Dylan’s new era Time Out Of Mind album to Emmylou Harris’ career redefining Wrecking Ball album to U2s All That You Can’t Leave Behind.
Essentially a “live off the floor” album, Howard took this recording project out of the all too often antiseptic confines of the recording studio and into the vintage carpeted mystique of a 1920s era Los Angeles mansion. The results are extraordinary.
Emmylou Harris, the reigning Queen of Alt Country Americana, once said of Lucinda Williams:
“She is an example of the best of what country (at least) says it is, but, for some reason, she’s completely out of the loop and I feel strongly that that’s country music’s loss.“
Country music’s loss is rock n rolls gain. Move over Jerry Lee, there’s a new Killer in town!
