Lucinda Williams webcasts Minneapolis show

Good Souls Better Angels

"You can't rule me," Lucinda Williams declares on the song of the same name, the defiant lead-off song on her blistering new album "Good Souls Better Angels," her most archly determined effort yet. That says a lot, given the fact that Williams has practically defined the very notion of an insurgent artist since the very beginning. Her swagger and sway often brings to mind a drunken sailor who staggers unsteadily down the street, spitting piss and vinegar at random passerbys. ...

The Ghosts of Highway 20

As impressive as her last album "Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone" was, this much is true about Lucinda Williams: the next album will be as stellar or even more. That's not to say any of her releases are subpar, but the quality (and now consistency) of her output makes her a precious gem. And this record, an album inspired and influenced by I-20, a winding piece of pavement that cuts throughout her home state of Louisiana, is the usual extraordinary affair you'd expect. ...

Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone

There's little left to be said when it comes the link between quality songs and Lucinda Williams. From her early days to her commercial breakthrough with 1998's "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road," Williams has always created her own heartfelt nuggets that can be equally haunting and rocking. And this newest release is perhaps her most ambitious effort to date, a 2-disc, 20-track album, starting with the barren "Compassion" that recalls some precious combination of Linda ...