Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

This 1998 Grammy-winning release--Lucinda Williams's popular breakthrough--certainly merits the double-disc "deluxe edition" treatment. And it's hard to find significant fault with anything here: the remastered version of the original album, the second-disc live performance from that year featuring guitarists Kenny Vaughn and Bo Ramsey, and the smattering of outtakes (highlighted by a slower, sadder version of "Out of Touch" than the one Williams ended up releasing). Yet the set misses a glorious opportunity to document one of the more laborious (and notorious) recording projects, one that saw Williams switch cities, studios, and producers three times before she was satisfied with the results. And while the results confirm her judgment, fans would likely find it fascinating to hear a lot more takes from the original Austin sessions (featuring accordion master Flaco Jimenez and keyboardist Ian McLagan) or outtakes from the Nashville sessions with producer Steve Earle, before Williams overhauled the project in Los Angeles with Springsteen keyboardist Roy Bittan. Such a set could have put a revelatory spotlight on the creative process that resulted in an album widely regarded as Williams's masterpiece; instead, this release is more like souvenir snapshots. --Don McLeese Amazon.com

Still I long for more Lucinda

Although we already own 'Car Wheels on a Gravel Road' by Lucinda Williams and love that album dearly, I would have to say that owning this bonus album with a 2nd live performance CD is a MUST have!

Not only do you get awesome quality in the re-mastered tracks, but you also get a live concert performance by Lucinda that is awesome to listen to!

To date, the 2nd CD performance of 'Change the Locks' is my favorite recorded version of that song which I have longed for for quite some time. There's something about hearing Lucinda perform that song live that brings out an intensity that a studio-recorded version of this song just can't re-produce.

To all of you Lucinda fans that crave, and just can't get enough - this CD set comes close! There isn't anything that can compare to hearing her live, but this CD set comes close. Highly very highly recommended!! October 21, 2007

Deluxe in every way

Lucinda Williams may be notoriously slow in releasing albums, but such laborious love for her craft is evident in her choice to reissue Car Wheels on a Gravel Road as part of a new deluxe edition set. The set, which combines a remastered version of the original album and live cuts from her performance at Penn's Landing during the WXPN Singer Songwriter Festival, is a collector's dream. Outtakes and new versions of favorite tunes done live make the investment worthwhile. As always, however, Williams own gravelly, soulful tone combined with realistic lyrics ("conversation with you was like a drug.../cause there's something about what happens when we talk") easily remind us of our faults, our successes and why we love her in the first place. She could be us, singing about the troubles in life without bemoaning them or harping too long on the choices that brought them. Her musical gestures resonate similarly--perfect chords, never a note too long or inappropriately placed. Beautiful tone combined with the hearty ability of this songstress lulls you into retrospective bliss. This double CD set can bring you up, remind you why you're down and can easily please a crowd of diverse fans. June 28, 2007

Great Concert in South Philly

Up from DC to visit a woman I'd just started dating and she suggested going to the WXPN free festival being held right along the Delaware. Southern Culture on the Skids were just finishing, but we were there to see the sometime associate of Steve Earle, who my friend adored.

The next act was nothing short of revelatory. The guitars dueled to incredible intensity, the songs were simply brilliant, and I was completely enamored by the singer in jeans and cowboy hat. My friend was a little put out by my rapt attention, but I just couldn't help it. Lucinda Williams was performing the most magical show I had seen in more than a decade.

I went from zero to all of her stuff within a couple of days and caught a few more shows up through Essence. During that stretch, I know of no stronger composer and performer; and her rendition of Masters of War was enough to make you want to take to the streets.

Anyway, great album, great show, great artist in her prime. You'd be hard pressed to do better.

March 15, 2007

A great album gets a polish

Lucinda's quintessential album gets a bit of a production polish with this reissue that falls just short of a 10th anniversary. Yes, Disc One of this edition contains the original material from "Car Wheels," but, in my opinion, the songs sound MUCH, MUCH better - crisper, clearer, with greater definition. There was nothing wrong with the original production, but this one just pops out of my headphones and car stereo speakers with a bit more oomph.

Three added-value tracks follow "Jackson," the album closer. "Out of Touch" ended up on her "Essence" CD, and I think that version is the better one, but this early attempt is still interesting to hear. "Down the Big Road Blues" is a tremendous tune that did not make the final cut, probably because it's more of a pure blues number, unlike the material that did make it. And who can resist any version of "Still I Long For Your Kiss"? This music is sexy as hell!

"Car Wheels" is one of my favorite albums, and ranks alongside "World Without Tears" as my favorite Lucinda record. She's a phenomenal songwriter, able to craft deeply personal lyrics that have universal value, and has a voice to rival Bono's in its uniqueness. (Just as you'd recognize Bono's voice almost instantly, so Lucinda's is easily recognized.) She sparkles on the second disc of this release, recorded live in Philadelphia back in 1998. Lucinda and her band burn through a great set that includes "Joy," "Hot Blood," "Changed the Locks" and "2 Kool 2 B Forgotten."

I'm not a big fan of reissues, but this is no retread, this is the ultimate version of a fantastic album. January 30, 2007

Nice extras, horrible sound

Add one more title to the list of unfortunate recent remastering jobs: Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road".

I listened to the new version of "Car Wheels" (one of my two favorite Lucinda albums) through headphones for the first time last night and couldn't get beyond the second track. By now, this is a familiar story - anemic bass, too high volume levels that distort at normal listening levels, and shrill, harsh sound. It also sounds hollow and "phasey", which to me suggests low-bit-rate mp3s. There's no clipping, but every track is mastered at the maximum peak level (something which shouldn't happen given the variety exhibited in these songs).

If you've still got the original CD, hold on to it because that sounds wonderful, with warmth, texture, visceral bass. It rocks.

What happened to this disc answers one question. When it comes to reissues of older albums, I've often wished that the remasters could be compared to the original tapes, or even to an LP. Maybe the warmth and texture in the original CDs were actually the byproduct of analog distortion and deteriorating tapes. But when Cream's "Disraeli Gears" and Lucinda's "Car Wheels" have undergone almost exactly the same changes, that tells me the people doing the remastering are just willfully altering it to their own peculiar tastes. (I should have been forewarned by how badly the Universal "deluxe edition" of The Who's great debut album turned out. Lost Highway has denied having anything to do with this reissue, so I assume Universal is again to blame.)

Reviewing the "sound" of this reissue on a car stereo or portable player is missing the point. Does anyone even know what a well-recorded and reproduced piece of music sounds like anymore?
January 27, 2007

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