LUCINDA WILLIAMS - BLESSED (2LP + 2CD)

Lucinda Williams Blessed on 2LP + 2CD Set from Lost Highway

Williams' 2011 Studio Set on 2LP Includes Entire Album on CD Plus a Bonus CD of the Kitchen Tapes Demos

Americana Legend's 10th Studio Record Produced by Don Was

Features Guest Appearances by Elvis Costello and Matthew Sweet

Following a two-year break between albums, and the blossoming of a relationship that turned into marriage, one of the great contemporary songwriters and music makers returns with her twelfth studio set. And being that the artist we're talking about is Lucinda Williams, the record is a doozy.

Diverse and captivating, Blessed opens with the gritty kiss-off “Buttercup” then moves seamlessly into the sultry blues of “Born To Be Loved.” Williams delves into a heavier subject as she questions the motives for a suicide on the hard-driving “Seeing Black”, which features blistering guitar from Elvis Costello. The thoughtful title track slowly builds to a melodic climax as it offers an eye-opening look at what’s right in front of us, but too often unnoticed. The singer/guitarist's knack for insights and emotive songs run throughout the 12-song set.

Poignant and powerful, “Soldier’s Song” simultaneously tells a tragic story of the soldier overseas and his wife and child back home. On the gorgeous “Kiss Like Your Kiss”, Williams lays down one of the most beautiful and fragile vocals she has ever recorded. The original version of the song appeared on the True Blood: Music From The HBO Original Series - Volume 2, and was recently nominated for a Grammy Award.
 
It’s nothing new to see Williams tug at the heartstrings and stimulate the mind on her songs, but there is a vibe throughout Blessed that is unique to this album: the sound of wisdom, wherewithal, and experience Williams has gained through her more than 30 years as an uncompromising artist. Combine that pedigree with Grammy Award-winning producer Don Was, and the results are nothing but special.

Lost Highway's 2LP pressing of Blessed also includes the entire album on CD as well as a revealing bonus disc, titled The Kitchen Tapes, which presents the record's songs in demo form as Williams recorded them, often at her kitchen table, as she's prone to do. Complete packaging on new studio records doesn't come any better!

"Her band occasionally builds to galvanizing payoffs in “Seeing Black,” “Convince Me” and the title track. But mostly the hands-off production by a small team of collaborators including Don Was leaves plenty of space for the singer’s eloquently frayed voice to whisper, murmur and confide. In an after-hours session that suggests a honky-tonk cabaret, Williams lets the songs burn slowly and sensually until there’s nothing left but smoke and ash."
--Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune, February 28, 2011

Lucinda Williams Blessed Track Listing:

LP 1
1. Buttercup
2. Don’t Know How You’re Livin’
3. Copenhagen
4. Born To Be Loved
5. Seeing Black
6. Soldier's Song

LP 2
1. Blessed
2. Sweet Love
3. Ugly Truth
4. Convince Me
5. Awakening
6. Kiss Like Your Kiss

CD:
1. Buttercup
2. Don’t Know How You’re Livin’
3. Copenhagen
4. Born To Be Loved
5. Seeing Black
6. Soldier's Song
7. Blessed
8. Sweet Love
9. Ugly Truth
10. Convince Me
11. Awakening
12. Kiss Like Your Kiss

Bonus CD:
Kitchen Tapes demos