We ve all heard about the iconic vibe of Route 66, the neon lights on Broadway and the ocean air of the Pacific Coast Highway. But there are untold stories emanating from countless blue highways across the land like Interstate 20, which cuts a 1500-mile swath from South Carolina to Texas, and cuts deep into the spirit of those who ve spent their lives traversing it. Lucinda Williams is one of those people, and with the expansive, enveloping The Ghosts of Highway 20, she brings those stories to life and gives listeners a remarkably vivid look at how the highway has been a literal and figurative backdrop throughout her entire life. The intensely involving 14-song collection may be the most deeply felt, deeply affecting work of Lucinda Williams illustrious 35-plus-year career, a career that has been established on a foundation of remarkably personal songs. It is literally a map of my life in a lot of ways, says Lucinda. We were driving between shows and between cities, and I kept seeing things that brought me back to times and places in my past. Like when we played in Macon, Georgia, a place I lived when I was five or six years old, I got out of the bus and I was transported back to when I saw this street singer, Blind Pearly Brown. It was like nothing had changed. All these things started percolating in my brain, and the songs just came. The thread of Highway 20 connects those songs, mirroring the winding route of the road itself, a street that cleaves close to Williams childhood homes, the final resting place of her mother, the sites where signposts of her formative years are forever planted. The connection runs deep here, particularly on the dark and moody tones of the album s poignant title track, on which Lucinda ponders the lives that were lived, the legacies that were left and the imprints that remain on her own soul, conveying those vignettes with a palette that s nuanced enough to give the listener pause to ponder, but unvarnished enough that her message is impossible to miss.
G**D
Her best since Essence. So damn good!
As someone who fell in love with Lucinda during the Car Wheels period, and has stuck through every recording, I am very happy to say this is a return to the old Lucinda. Nasty gut-wrenching blues with dirty guitar from the master Bill Frisell (it's as much his album as it is her's), the record is quite possibly her best since Essence. And it honestly sounds nothing like her last two, especially from a production standpoint, i.e. no over-production. It sounds live and sweaty and a little drunk. It'll make you want to sit out on the back porch with a bottle of bourbon, cranking the stereo up loud. She might not take your blues away, but at least you've got someone cool to drink with. So damn good!
P**N
Lucinda takes her listeners deep into her very personal world - and creates a classic
My God, how can Lucinda Williams just get better and better? This may be her best release ever, certainly since "Essence," or "World Without Tears." This is a double disc, an always risky undertaking, but I found myself wanting even more. I have listened to this many, many times over and I can't find a "weak" track. Even though a quick listen could lead one to believe that this is a "mellow" album. But then there are the lyrics and song titles.Lucinda begins this effort with, "Dust", which may be the most powerful song of disgust and disenchantment with a lover. "Even your tears are dust," she sings. Wow! A simple sentence that puts a dagger in the heart of the object of her disdain. Another example where just the title tells you she is not making a "happy-go-lucky" type of album is the morbid/gruesome "If My Love Could Kill." The title says it all.As I said, there is not a weak track on here. But make no mistake, this is Lucinda at her taciturn, low key, down in the blues best. She sings the words in a manner that may seem laconic, but there is no doubt she means every sharp cutting word and phrase. This album may well stand as one of her best and most memorable efforts.Her lyrics make it clear that she is a woman who has seen it all, survived it all, been knocked down and gotten back up, as witnessed by the closing track on disc two, "Faith and Grace."A word has to be said about the musicians and the arrangements which combine to create a mood that makes it seem that the lights were out in the studio, and that no matter how many lights are on when you listen to this gorgeous set, the room seems to darken. I have listened to it in my room with only moonlight and reflected streetlights for illumination, and that seemed just right. I want to mention along these same lines that the economic but perfectly placed use of dissonance is true artistry.This album represents one of those times when an artist and her band are just in their own world and just killing it. I could not recommend "The Ghosts of Highway 20" any more highly. It is a must have, and is in the running for my best album of the year.
R**S
Another Classic
It's probably a bit too soon to tell, but to my ears it sure sounds like Lucinda has crafted another classic here....Casual fans beware, this definitely isn't a repeat of her last record...it's not as contemporary sounding and doesn't have as much variety either...what it does have is a great batch of (mostly slow) countrified/bluesy story songs about the South....as a result, these songs don't really jump out and instantly grab you like the best stuff from that album did, but don't let that scare you away...her world weary lyrics are exceptional and the accompaniment is as superb as it is unique....guitarist Bill Frissell and Greg Leisz were given plenty of room to stretch out and they certainly take full advantage of it with a host of lengthy intros and solos...couple this with the gritty production and Lucinda's moaning, sometimes slurred, vocals and you get truly unique Southern Gothic sound. That being said, most of this still sounds like classic Lucinda, but it doesn't sound like "Car Wheels" and it doesn't sound like any of her other albums either...it's definitely something different and (too me) it definitely something good...Long Live The Queen
S**N
I've never reviewed an album purchase here on Amazon but this album is so damn good I have to give some quick feedback
OK. I've never reviewed an album purchase here on Amazon but this album is so damn good I have to give some quick feedback. I've followed Lucinda Williams from her Essence album, forward. I mean, that's when I became aware of her as an artist, but her earlier work is also excellent. None of it quite resembles or prepares your for this particular album, which is strung together with these sort of psychedelic guitar harmonies flowing around in the background like currents in a slow Southern river. Her songwriting has always been excellent and it's no exception here. She's returned a bit to her stripped down vocals, relying on interesting lyrical reputations like before. It's completely different from her last album, even though it's recorded with many of the same band as this from what I understand (Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone). That album is far more mainstream than this one. This one takes a bit of work, or a bit of drink or smoke. But the mood that settles in is unbelievable. Like nothing you've heard before.
M**.
An Eclectic Gem
First let me say I am a big fan, so this might be a little biased. This cd is musically is all over the place----and I like it. It's not an easy listen after her last two cd's which were great. It covers blues, country, rockabilly, and (believe it or not) psychedelic. If you are a first time Lucinda listener, start with Lucinda Williams and Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Then switch over to A World Without Tears and Where the Spirit Meets the Bone. Lastly, Blessed and Ghosts on the Highway. It is different, but very good. If your a fan, it might take a few listens before it takes hold. Enjoy.
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