{"id":3465,"date":"2011-08-18T23:37:02","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T06:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=3465"},"modified":"2011-08-18T23:37:02","modified_gmt":"2011-08-19T06:37:02","slug":"lucinda-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2011\/08\/lucinda-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"LUCINDA WILLIAMS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

LUCINDA WILLIAMS<\/h1>\n

A songwriter known for melancholy looks on the bright side<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lucinda Williams has earned a reputation over the last three decades for writing songs that were as melancholy as they were dazzling. So, many fans were surprised when her most recent album, 2008\u2019s Little Honey<\/em>, found her sounding happy and optimistic. Her latest, the aptly titled Blessed<\/em>, further proves that emotional turmoil isn\u2019t the only fuel for her art. \u201cNow I\u2019m writing about things other than unrequited love,\u201d says Williams, who wed music-biz veteran Tom Overby in 2009, \u201cthings that are more universal in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams began composing for the new album in May of last year, surrounding herself with notes jotted down while she was on tour. \u201cThe actual process comes in spurts,\u201d says Williams, who typically uses her trusted 1970s Martin D-18 for writing. \u201cIt\u2019s like I\u2019ve been hibernating, and then once I get into that mode, I dive in.\u201d Finding herself with enough songs to fill two albums, Williams pared down the material and hit the studio with producers Don Was, Overby and Eric Liljestrand. The results range from guitar-drenched country-rock to languid ballads tinged with Memphis-inspired soul\u2014and there is still some darkness in the lyrics, as evidenced by the kiss-off rocker \u201cButtercup.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s the only \u2018bad boy\u2019 song on the album,\u201d says the Louisiana native, whose father is National Arts Award\u2013winning poet Miller Williams. \u201cI had one more to get out of my system.\u201d She spoke with us from her home in Los Angeles about her\u00a0new artistic direction.<\/p>\n

How did you team with Don Was?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was time to bring in a different element, a new set of ears. My husband, Tom, suggested we reach out to Don, and it turned out great. Don fit in perfectly with us, and Eric did the engineering. It was a very democratic process, but then again it always is when I make an album. It\u2019s exciting to work with someone who\u2019s made great albums that have also been commercially successful. Don understands the artistic process.<\/p>\n

Were there surprises in the studio?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was surprised that my vocal tracks went down so perfectly. There were no issues with pitch or anything like that. I would look through the glass at the guys, and they\u2019d be standing there like, \u201cWow!\u201d I think that came from feeling comfortable with Don, and from Eric\u2019s talents. But I also feel my voice is better than it\u2019s ever been. Right from the start Don said he wanted to build everything around the vocals, and of course I said yes. I don\u2019t like it when vocals\u00a0get buried in the mix.<\/p>\n

How did you approach the writing? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I grew up listening to Bob Dylan\u2019s songs, which were so majestic and so topical. I always wanted to write songs like \u201cMasters of War\u201d or \u201cThe Times They Are A-Changin.\u2019\u201d This album was an exercise in writing those types of songs. They grew out of what was going on in my life, what was in the news or what sort of music I was listening to. I never sit and think, \u201cThis record is going to be about this topic.\u201d I take a very organic approach. Of course at the end of the day you want to include the songs that work best together, and the\u00a0ones that sound the best.<\/p>\n

What is your process like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m always observing, thinking and jotting things down. At one point in my life I used to worry, because I would go through long stretches where I wouldn\u2019t finish a song. But over time I realized that I just had a routine that was particular to me. I would come up with plenty of songs, but they always came in a flurry. I might not finish anything again for another six months or so. But I\u2019m more prolific now than I\u2019ve ever been. That started sometime after my mother\u2019s death [in 2004], which seemed to propel me in some way. When I was writing the songs for West<\/em> [2007] I just kept going and going. That happened with this album as well.<\/p>\n

Do your broad musical tastes come from growing up in the 1960s?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. The artists I listened to mixed all different sorts of styles. The Band is a good example, as are Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Creedence Clearwater Revival. They all did country, folk-rock, rock\u2014all sort of things. Whereas when I was first coming up as an artist in the \u201980s, I fell in the cracks between country and rock. I was told I was too \u201ccountry\u201d for rock, and too \u201crock\u201d for country. To me the important thing has always been the song itself,\u00a0not the style of the song.<\/p>\n

Do ballads come easier than rockers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. That also happens by default because I always write on acoustic guitar, but the fast-tempo songs are more challenging. I wish I could write more like Neil Young: (sings<\/em>) \u201cKeep on rockin\u2019 in the free world!\u201d But then again, a lot of those songs may have started out as ballads. If you take a song like \u201cRockin\u2019 in the Free World\u201d and slow it down, it almost becomes a folk song. A lot of it has to do with what happens in the studio. I make demo tapes for all the guys to listen to before we record. Depending on what happens in the studio, a song might become a rocker. That\u2019s the fun part of the process, the part where you\u2019re deciding what to add or what\u00a0tempo you want.<\/p>\n

Why do you like your Martin D-18?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s got a special vibe and I have an emotional attachment to it. It\u2019s sitting here beside me on its guitar stand. I\u2019ve written so many songs on this guitar. I\u2019ve had it since 1979. I was living in Houston and bought it for $400. I used to play it on stage, but it was always feeding back. I still take it on the road in order to write.<\/p>\n

What do you play on stage these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Gibson J-45, the Everly Brothers model. It\u2019s a great guitar\u00a0as well.<\/p>\n

Did your father give you any advice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t censor yourself, that\u2019s one. The other thing was the importance of economy in writing, the importance of making every word count. Something might initially come as a big flurry of words and ideas, but you have to sift through that and trim the fat. He also taught me not to fall back on clich\u00e9s\u2014\u201cmoon in June,\u201d \u201cstars in your eyes,\u201d those sorts of phrases. There\u2019s just a handful of big themes\u2014love, death, sex\u2014but it\u2019s important to address those topics in original ways. One way to do\u00a0that is to tell a story.<\/p>\n

How about advice from friends? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Emmylou Harris and I were in Nashville going out to dinner with some people, and there was a woman singing live opera in the restaurant. I turned to Emmylou and said, \u201cI wish I had a range like that, I wish that I could do more with my voice.\u201d She immediately said, \u201cYour limitations are your strengths. Your strengths come from\u00a0 learning how to work within your limitations.\u201d That really stuck with me. I think that\u2019s one reason I\u2019m a stronger singer today. I\u2019ve learned how to use my voice in the best possible way.<\/p>\n

\u2013Russell Hall<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LUCINDA WILLIAMS A songwriter known for melancholy looks on the bright side Lucinda Williams has earned a reputation over the last three decades for writing songs that were as melancholy as they were dazzling. So, many fans were surprised when her most recent album, 2008\u2019s Little Honey, found her sounding happy and optimistic. Her latest, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[2413,1807,970],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3465"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3467,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3465\/revisions\/3467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}