LU in '08 (Lost Highway, 2008)

Close on the heels of her excellent studio release "Little Honey," Lucinda Williams is out with a four-song live EP of political protest songs. Kicking off a trio of covers recorded in September 2007 in Greensboro, N.C. is the quintessential protest song of the 60's For What It's Worth , the Buffalo Springfield classic written by Stephen Stills.

Bob Dylan's Masters Of War begins with Williams accompanied only by an acoustic guitar as in Dylan's original, but other instruments are integrated as the tune progresses. Williams vocals are particularly impassioned on the final verse "And I hope that you die/And your death will come soon/I'll follow your casket on a pale afternoon/And I'll watch while you're lowered/ Down to your death bed/And I'll stand over your grave 'til I'm sure that you're dead."

A lesser known but equally effective cover is the Thievery Corporation/Flaming Lips collaboration Marching The Hate Machine (Into The Sun) . Closing the set is Bone Of Contention , a scathing Williams original recorded in Milwaukee in July ("Guilty sin is in your blood/ Abomination of all that's good/ Mathematics and politics/Three sixes and deadly tricks").

Available only via digital download from Amazon and iTunes, this impressive live set is a worthy follow up to "Little Honey."