REISSUE
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
Release Date: October 4, 2006
Label: Mercury/Universal



Original Album:
Scores of critics have already hailed Lucinda Williams� 1998 Grammy winning effort Car Wheels On A Gravel Road as one of the greatest albums of all time. Needless to say, it�s a masterwork of the alt-country (screw it, let�s just call it rock) genre. Listening to the recently released remaster, it�s easy to see why. What Car Wheels does better than the vast majority of similar albums is capture authentically a sense of place. Whether it�s in the details of the rural poetry that comprises much of the album�s story-songs, or the unmistakable catch in Williams� voice that heralds her as a narrator who has clearly lived through what she sings, the entire album is like a journey to the Deep South - with all the heartbreak, wonder and comfort that comes with it.
A riveting one-woman show, Williams effortlessly becomes her character, be it the defeated slur of Drunken Angel or the intense retaliation of Joy. Of course, it helps that the thirteen roots-based songs that comprise Car Wheels are written so well that they could have been successful in any genre. Jack White could learn a thing from the riveting blues of Can�t Let It Go, while the title track quickly becomes a rural hymn worthy of sing-along status. Eight years later, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road still stands out from the pack.

Reissue:
The album is repackaged as a double-disc set, one disc including the original album remastered with three bonus tracks, the second disc capturing a stripped down 1998 live performance. Although the album was nearly perfect before, these added features act as a great supplement. The bonus tracks are up to the same level as the original thirteen and the live recording offers a glimpse at a rawer, more explosive Williams.

Entire Package: A