Category:
Roots / Singer/Songwriter

Try if you like:
Blue Mountain, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, Townes Van Zandt

West has been on my plate to review for a while then all of a sudden Little Honey ended up on my desk as well. Hmm, yes I'm behind. Anyway, working on the Little Honey got me to pull out West again to try and formulate a review. Sorry Lucinda. Anyway, you'll get a double whammy here.

West starts out awful. Sincerely awful. "Are You Alright?" is so repetitive that it pretty much lulls you to sleep. Decent song and melody but way too repetitive. If you aren't asleep by the time "Mama You Sweet" rolls around then this one will definitely induce a power nap, regardless of the time of day. "Learning How To Live" is really no better. Really, the first decent song comes around track 4, "Fancy Funeral". It's a quiet song but at least the monotony is removed. "Unsuffer Me" is a huge effort too. A stab in the right direction. The best track rears it's head on "Everything Has Changed", a nice gentle ballad but at least it doesn't bore us to tears. Then she decides to try rocking out a little more on "Come On". This though ends up being a little tired by the time it's over. But then back into siesta zone with "Where Is My Love?". What's with the repetition Lu? You are so much better than that. Really, there are a few highlights on this album but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are in desperation for more Williams material.

I don't know what happened to the perfectionist Lucinda Williams that I came to love and respect. West is probably her worst album so far. It's such a relief that Little Honey was so close behind. Now onto that review.