Lucinda Williams: Blessed (Universal)
I’m sure that more than a few fans like myself held their breath when we heard that Lucinda Williams’s new album was called Blessed. After all, this was the queen of ragged-country heartbreak, the woman who could convey more emotion in a single line of a song than most of her contemporaries could muster on an album.
But this was her first album since she married music executive Tom Overby on stage at one of her gigs in September 2009 — what effect would domestic bliss have on her music? The good news is that Blessed is probably the best album she has recorded since 2007’s West, perhaps even since 2003’s World without Tears.
The big themes are all present — death (Copenhagen), heartbreak (Buttercup), suicide (Seeing Black), love (Born to be Loved) and war (Soldier’s Song) — and the balance is just perfect, with down-in-the-dumps country and lost-in-love country battling it out throughout. But ultimately what makes Williams such a treasure is that gorgeous voice and the integrity she brings to every record she puts out. A world without Williams would be a much poorer place and, for that reason, we are blessed.