Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears

With the crackling sound of Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams took a stranglehold on yearning vocals. That big ache is back on her latest, a superb collection that rivals even Car Wheels’ brilliance. Songs like “Righteously” boast a sensuality bordering on horniness, while the gutbucket blues of “Atonement” and the understated protest of “American Dream” tackle social issues with a vengeance. But one of the most stunning tracks is “Those Three Days,” a song of deep, palpable desperation.