LUCINDA WILLIAMS - WORLD WITHOUT TEARS (LIMITED EDITION LP)

Most artists who appeal to adult listeners tend to settle into a comfortable niche, but Lucinda Williams refuses to play it safe. Instead, her music stings like an open wound, as she continues to strip away the protective layers from her art's emotional core. Though Lucinda Williams has long been prized for the naked honesty of her music, this collection is even rawer than its predecessors. From the down-and-dirty bar-band blues of Atonement to the Rolling Stones-style swagger of Bleeding Fingers to the tricky balance of debasement and transcendence in Ventura, Lucinda Williams leaves the nerve endings of her music exposed. With the band opting for first-take immediacy rather than polish, some of the most powerful material is also the neediest, as the singer addresses lovers who have disrespected her (Righteously) or abandoned her (Those Three Days, Minneapolis). Though her attempts at rap on Sweet Side and American Dream might cause diehard fans to wince, her willingness to take creative chances reaffirms her position at the vanguard of a rootsy progressivism that transcends musical category. Simply put, there's more Patti Smith in her than there is Patsy Cline.

Lucinda Williams World Without Tears Track Listing

1. Fruits of My Labor
2. Righteously
3. Ventura
4. Bleeding Fingers
5. Over Time
6. Those Three Days
7. Atonement
8. Sweet Sweet
9. Minneapolis
10. People Talkin'
11. American Dream
12. World Without Tears
13. Words Fell