Lucinda Williams-Little Honey

She's one of my heroes, I count her as an influence and I envy her band so I'm happy for Lucinda Williams that she's happy, finally, and sharing the love on her 9th CD. All the loving translates into an increased rock factor, a stronger-than-ever voice, and — alas —a decline in lyric quality. Who has time for rewrites when you're in love, on top of your performance game and enjoying the "fruits of your labor"? Not Lu, I'm afraid. Sure, there's some trademark, f*&%-you songs such as "Jailhouse Tears" but I wish she'd spent more time reworking the material. That said, the band's in fab form and it sounds like they had fun making it. Buy it if you've been onto her for a while, but if you're new to her stuff, start with something earlier such as now-classic "Car Wheels On a Gravel Road" or "World Without Tears." That way, you too, will be happy enough for Lucinda for making it through the hard stuff to forgive the slip in song quality.