Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Deluxe Edition)

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.

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