Customer Reviews

Live @ The Fillmore

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Car Wheels on A Gravel Road" was a Grammy-winner that introduced millions of new fans (including me) to the brilliant performer Lucinda Williams whose poetic lyrics, memorable tunes and country-rock sound seemed both fresh and timeless, especially to fans of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Her subsequent albums, however, did not seem to reach her new fan base. The spare but evocative lyrics turned stark and minimal, and the emotions they revealed seemed extremely personal. The music was somewhat the same, but darker, more claustrophic, an accompaniment to the obsessive mood. I liked these albums ("Essence" and "World Without Tears") but if you didn't find them a little disturbing, you really weren't listening.

With "Live @ the Fillmore," Lucinda seems to be breaking all ties to the "Car Wheels" gal, and saying to her fans that this intense, internal, obsessive space is where she's at and where she's staying. This album is not a recap of her career, a greatest hits collection. It is almost completely devoted to the last two albums, and the few earlier songs that she includes either predicted her current direction, or are reinterpreted here in a darker vein than the originals.

Does she sell these songs? I would say yes, completely. They benefit from the greater expressiveness of live performances. Her vocal delivery is even harsher, the incredible steel guitar/electric guitar work of Doug Pettibone is even more expressive, at times sheer metal noise, at other times lonesome sobbing. These songs seem very close to the bone; I almost felt I was a Peeping Tom hearing her bemoan a hit and run lover in "Those Three Days," instruct a too-selfish lover in "Righteously," or paint a dark picture of solitude in "Ventura." This is a full-grown woman in three dimensions, a woman who has not found love to be much more than a momentary release followed by aching disaster. It can be scary. But it is artistically brilliant and satisfying.

A good listen, but in many cases the studio versions of these songs were more satisfying to me. I thought a strange thing was going on with this recording. On one hand, the vocals sometimes didn't show enough restraint and went to some place beyond the rawness that we like from Lucinda. On the other hand, the band showed too much restraint much of the time - they duplicated the studio sound well but didn't really tap into the kind of extra energy that a live show can convey. This dynamic works alright on the more low-key songs that start disc one and finish disc two, but it falls down on the faster/harder songs in the middle of the set.

Lucinda fans will buy it and like it well enough (I did and do), but...

This is a good live recording, but owning better live bootlegs of hers, and having attended better concerts of hers makes me wonder who decided what got put in this release and why? It took me a long time to shell out the bucks for this, and had I read the reviews on Amazon first, I probably would have spent the money on something else. Lucinda still makes me weak in the knees and I'll still buy the studio stuff and certainly keep going to the shows. The Fillmore might be legendary, but her performances in Houston far exceed what transpired on these San Francisco nights.

Lucinda's rough, boozy voice is the perfect instrument for her poetry of unrequited and obsessive love, loss, sorrow and guilt. Her backup matches the mood of every song - inventive, original and pulsing with electricity and virtuosity.

Like John Prine and Dylan her lyrics tell stories with laser insight. Like Janis Joplin, she turns herself inside out, hurling emotion without restraint. Like Delbert McClinton she integrates her powerful lyrics with musical accompaniment that socks it home. But Lucinda with guitarists Doug Pettibone and Tara Prodanick, Jim Christie on drums, are soul mates, soaring above them all in this rare, raw event.

Lucinda repeats some of the best songs from other albums. But this time, they're not done with the same tenderness. Her voice has become more desperate and ragged. Every cut has an edge. Like a wounded woman, stripped to her soul, alone in a dark room with hard booze in a dirty glass, drinking away the pain. Hurt and melancholy, she shares with us the bitter leftovers of rejection and abandonment.

The first disc of this two disc album starts with "Ventura," The morning after, with nothing but emptiness and regret, she longs for redemption. "I want to be swallowed up in an ocean of love." Hawaiian sound - slide guitar. Sweet, sad, spent.

By "Out of Touch" things heat up. The beat gets more insistent and driving. Hints of rebellion. Guitars on the loose. Then back to melancholy.

"Sweet Side" reveals a deeply compassionate understanding of character.

"Changed the Locks" Fury! Revenge! Opens with a threatening drum beat and guitars grinding, squealing, whining while Lucinda lays it down, her teeth gritted, in a heavy vengeful beat.

"Atonement", the last cut on disc one, honors ZZ Top. It starts with a strip club beat as Lucinda calls all sinners to the bible. Drum punches in the march to redemption. The guitars break loose, screaming, twirling, crying, pushing on. The beat is unrelenting. "Come on!" Lucinda bawls out.

On Disc Two things get going. Supersized sixties sound, Hendrix style - a stew of rock, blues, and country guitar - rich with vibe, slide and ride, wail and whine. Powerful counterpoint to Lucinda's raunchy vocals.

"Righteously" - pure sex. [...]. Audience gets turned on. Guitar ramps up, stretching, sliding, vibrating. Drum beat skips, rattles. Hot, hot, hot.

Then "Joy." Primal. Fierce. Raw. "I don't want you anymore. You took my joy." Against Lucinda's furious rant, the music is a bouncy, mellow rock. Mid way it starts to build a fever, then retreats back to the subtle rocking beat, fades down and murmurs a few notes. Lucinda cries out. Guitar rises up, gains speed, shakes it hard, retreats again to a slow drawl, lying in wait for Lucinda's final exhausted lament, then gently carries her off in a soft retreat.

"Real Live Bleeding." Old style. Like a Stones number. Bitter lyrics.

Those Three Days." A killer. Skin crawling heartbreak and loneliness embraced in elegant language.

"American Dream." Her rap number "Everything is wrong!". Military beat with a raoomp drum, sticks, and a smooth guitar glide.

The finale, "Words Fell." Slow. Country blues. Guitar wails like a soft wind. Beautiful lyrics. Words fall, like roses at her feet.

In this well balanced duo of lyrical and raucous, Lucinda is the musical mistress of anguish, anger, regret and love.

The little blurb by label mate Elvis Costello on the packaging calls Lucinda the closest link we have to Hank Williams recording today. Yes, her honesty as a performer is intense and if each note is not perfect, on a soul level it certainly makes sense. "Ventura" that opens is a slow song where Lucinda's vocals sail peacefully over the lovely melody, "I want to get swallowed up in an ocean of love." "Reason to Cry" is another slow gorgeous melody where Williams' voice seems worn with world-weary worry, "I thought things would stay the same, I thought things were right on, then our sunny days, how could we go wrong?" Lucinda starts to let loose on the emotional belter "Sweet Side" with the talk-sing verses and the wild chorus. The band lets loose on "Changed the Locks" with Lucinda's wild electric lead searing the speakers and her ravaged vocals pouring more power into a lyric than anyone since Janis Joplin, "I changed the kind of car I drive so you can't see me when I go by & you can't chase me in the street & you can't knock me off my feet." Disc 2 must have been re-sequenced since the computer lists the opener as "Essence" rather than her classic "I Lost It." "Pineola," the tale of a suicide, is not the most pleasant of songs, but is ripped to shreds by Lucinda's bloodlust performance that gores the jugular & never lets loose of her grief. Her snarl and vocal fierceness on this track adds new levels to the studio version. Lucinda's electric lead is like an incendiary device in the emotional gasoline of "Righteously," "Be my lover, don't play no games, just play me John Coltrane." "Joy" is another startling assault with the band in crack form and Lucinda's primal vocals violating the musicality to arrive at an apex of desperation. "Are You Down" takes the pedal off the metal as Lucinda's bluesy electric guitar jolts the melody, milking it like a classic Grateful Dead treatment. "These Three Days" is another strong melody where Lucinda explores feelings of being used by a lover. "Bus to Baton Rouge" from the "Essence" album sounds good in this live rendition. Lucinda Williams shows some incredible sides of her talent that come through in a more replete manner than in her studio recordings. We hear her as a guitarist, sometimes as adventurous as Hendrix; and we also hear an incredible vocal performance, rivaling Janis Joplin for sheer no-holes-barred emotion. Bravo!

I love Lucinda and I love her music live much moreso than the studio albums, which to me ususally seem too reserved for my taste. As it is with Lucinda Williams herself, I find people will either love this release or consider it sub par to her studio stuff. Honestly, most live albums ARE subpar to the studio. As Live albums go I LOVE THIS ONE. It is raw, raspy, gritty, and wonderful, as is Lucinda herself. I would have loved to have more earlier cuts included but if these are the ones Lu chose, then that's a good enough endorsement for me.

These discs are based on three sets Williams played at the Fillmore in SF in 2003. Generally I am a big fan of hers, although I do rate her work from "Lucinda Williams" to "Car Wheels" her best. These 2 discs are a bit disappointing. Live recordings should expand upon or otherwise enhance studio recordings of songs. I do not feel that any of these does that; almost to a song, the studio versions are preferable. The problem here is not so much Williams, it is rather that her band here is merely competant. Simply put, they really are not the sort of musicians that push material in new directions. A good example is Doug Pettibone (former guitarist for . . . Jewel?!). He is good at replicating effects from albums but is quite uninspired when it comes to solos and backing parts live. Gurf Morlix, John Jackson, Larry Campbell, who have all played with Williams in the past were much more capable players. I've seen Williams a number of times over the years, and this does not represent her at her best. Still, it IS Lucinda Williams, so 3 stars.

So the story goes that our Miss Lucinda being more than a little dismayed by the lackluster response to her truly remarkable studio release WORLD WITHOUT TEARS, decided to record a live album containing all but three of the songs from that work. Forcing critics & fans alike to take another look at those songs. I don't know if the tactic has really swayed public opinion in that regard, but the resulting live material is a blistering, soulful package nonetheless. The slight crack in her plaintive delivery on "Fruits Of My Labor" just makes my knees buckle. She always has a band behind her that means business and one listen to the thunder they bring on "Joy" you'll see what a nasty business that is. I often laugh when I read descriptions of Lucinda's voice as "sweet". If you mean the whiskey-soaked, smoky, pissed-off strains she displays on "Changed The Locks" & "Pineola" then I'll stop taking my coffee black. Speaking of sweet..."Sweet Side" really comes alive here & "Righteously" comes off even sexier when she's seducing the entire Fillmore crowd. As far as her intent? Luci, you're preaching to the choir with me. That being said though, there are songs I'm missing here like "Passionate Kisses", "Drunken Angel", & "Something About What Happens When We Talk". Those omissions are the only reason this is lacking a fifth star.

Lucinda Williams is a brilliant songwriter and an entertaining performer. However, this intense CD couples a particularly depressing set of slow songs on the first CD (even by Lucinda's standards) with harsh vocals on many faster-paced, but intense songs on the second CD. I don't think Lucinda is losing her voice; it sounds OK on a few songs. Rather, her raspy shrieks and growls seem designed to wring more pain from these angst-ridden songs. This does make the sets intense but probably won't make this be a CD I play very often. Her vocals are paired with pretty heavy electric guitar laden with feedback and slurred notes, an effective sound for the lyrics and vocals. If you aren't familiar with Lucinda, definitely start with studio albums (my favorite is "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road") with more understandable lyrics and melodic tunes (but plenty intense themes).

Never getting the opportunity to see her live, to me it was refreshing to hear the rawness of Lucinda's vocals live, backed by an incredible band, especially the guitar work of Doug Pettibone.

To me the only disapointment, and it wasn't much of a disapointment, was she didn't draw more from her earlier stuff, especially her self titled cd, and Car Wheels which are two of my favorite cds of all time. But I guess it was no surprise seeing as how she was probably promoting "World Without Tears" when this material was recorded.

The music starts out with some of her slower, mellower material, lulling the listener into a nice melancholic haze similar to that which one might expect from downing a couple of tablespoons of cough syrup. But just when you're about to nod off with the beautiful Blue, things quickly heat up with "Changed the Locks" and "Atonement" and by the end of the first disk with Lucinda and the band firing on all cylinders.

By the time they get to disk 2 things only get better, starting with "I Lost it", an unforgetable version of "Pineola" continuing right through to "Real Live Bleeding Fingers", with the highlight of the whole disk sandwiched in between with an unbelievable version of "Joy" where Lucinda laying it all out with an incredible vocal, leaves no doubt in the listener's mind that she is going to find her Joy, be it in Slidedale, West Memphis, or right there at the Filmore, no matter the cost - the song is topped off with the incredible guitar work of Doug Pettibone.

Things again slow down after "Real Live Bleeding Fingers", but in a nice sort of way, ending with three of her best songs, "World Without Tears", "Bus to Baton Rouge" and finishing up with a beautiful version of "Words Fell".

All in all a very good cd and well worth the $14 I shelled out for it.