LUCINDA WILLIAMS - "BLESSED"

A good friend of mine, who is a big Lucinda Williams fan, was worried about her new album, Blessed. "She writes so well about broken relationships," my friend said.  Now that's she's (hopefully) happily married, will she be as good as she was?

I pointed out that "Passionate Kisses" is one of her classic songs, and it seems to deal with being in a relationship that has lasted a while.  Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, her greatest album (and the one against all of her others will always be measured, at least in my mind) has a lot more than just breakup/heartbreak songs. I'm always optimistic anyway.

But it was like Lucinda heard my friend, because the opening track/first single, "Buttercup," is a kiss off to an ex-. But Lu is in a different place right now, and it takes courage to try and write about being happy. I think that's where she got the album title, Blessed. I love the artwork int he album - there's a series of people, who look like they are of varying economic circumstances, holding a sign that says "blessed." (You can see video testimonials by regular people who talk about what it means to be "blessed" at Lucinda's YouTube page.)

Like most of Lucinda's recent albums, there's definitely some weepers, but also some flat out rockers.  I totally dig "Seeing Black" (fair enough, another breakup song... by the way, both this song and "Buttercup" feature Elvis Costello on electric guitar). The soul of the album lies with the title track, where Lucinda sees the beauty in everyday life. I don't think she could have written this one 15 years ago. It comes right after "Soldier's Song," which compares a soldier's day with that of his wife and child back home.

Another great song is "Kiss Like Your Kiss," which Lu originally recorded with Elvis Costello for True Blood. Here, it is a solo version.

Don Was produced this album, and I think he did a great job. He's done some cool Outlaw Country type albums over the years, working with Willie Nelson and Elizabeth Cook, and he really stays out of the way here and lets Lu make another really solid album. Well done!

Interesting to see that for the second album in a row, Matthew Sweet sings backing vocals.  Lu, bring him out on the road!

As I mentioned, all of Lucinda's albums (at least to me) will be compared to Car Wheels. I don't think that Blessed is as good as that album, but it is really good and I'd be psyched to hear most of these songs in concert.

P.S. I'll also mention that the "deluxe" version of this album is worth getting: it features a second disc with Lucinda doing solo acoustic versions of all the songs, recorded live at her kitchen table!

CHECK OUT: ELIZABETH COOK - WELDER

Readers of No Expiration know that I'm not really the blogger writing about tons of artists that no one has heard of. I'm not trying to one-up everyone with my knowledge of obscure music! But I realize that not a lot of people know who Elizabeth Cook is. That's got to change, people!  Maybe it is changing: I read that both Paste and Rolling Stone named Elizabeth's Welder as one of their top albums of the 2010. I gotta represent and do my part, so I'm here to tell you that it's in my top 20 also (I'm still working on the whole list, but Welder is a lock, yo).

I discovered Elizabeth via SiriusXM's Outlaw Country (full disclosure, I work for the company).  Outlaw Country happens to be one of the reasons I subscribed to SIRIUS, before I worked there. I advise you to check it out, if you don't totally suck.  Anyway, Elizabeth's music gets played on the channel, but she's also the weekday morning DJ, and she's just awesome to listen to. Some musicians have a great personality, but it doesn't translate to their records, somehow.  That isn't the case with Elizabeth, Welder is great. She is one of the greatest country singers of our era.  She definitely belongs on Outlaw Country, which means that she's not mainstream Nashville, which means she's a bit harder to promote than the big country music stars you always hear about.  I don't knock them: I just think she's better. Her music rings truer. I don't know if all of her songs are about her, or if some are about her, it doesn't matter.  They all sound like they are about her when she's singing them.

On one hand, she's hilarious.  In "El Camino," she sings "if I wake up married, I'll have to annul it/right now my hands are in his mullet" and then there's "Yes To Booty," ("It's common knowledge 'round hree, when you say yes to beer, you say no to booty"). On the other, "Heroin Addict Sister" and "Mama's Funeral" are as sad as they sound, and you feel the hurt. But isn't that how life is?  There's fun, there's sex and there's also death.  She tackles all of it and doesn't flinch. She's a sexy chick who takes on life's less sexy realities.  And the songs are all tuneful (it's not just about the lyrics). She reminds me a bit of Loretta Lynn. She's funny, but her music also cuts really deep.

Not to make too big a deal of this, but Don Was produced the album. It sounds like he just backed off and let Elizabeth and the other musicians do their thing, that's what a good producer does sometimes.  But the guy has produced The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Iggy Pop and Willie Nelson to name a few, he knows his way around a great album. There are a few guests on the album - Buddy Miller (one of my favorite artists of the '00s), Dwight Yoakam and Rodney Crowell all show up as backing singers.

Anyway, if you trust me - and when have I led you wrong? - check out Welder, I bet you'll like it. I recently had the good fortune to be able to film her when she stopped by SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking studio, here's her performance of "Heroin Addict Sister." It was moving to be there. I still don't know if it is actually about her sister, but if felt like it was.

STONES IN EXILE DVD

I've got to say, I've really been digging listening to The Rolling Stones' classic Exile On Main Street over and over since the reissue came out. Tonight I watched Stones In Exile, the documentary about the album.

The doc was pretty cool, it was interesting to see footage of the era.  But you know Mick Jagger really isn't too into talking about it (in a recent interview he said he didn't know the point of it, other than getting paid, or something like that), and Charlie Watts really really isn't into talking about it. Keith Richards is cool with talking about whatever, but he didn't have any incredible insight, nor did former members Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman, although it was cool to see and hear them in the doc. My favorite parts were the interview segments with Bobby Keys, who played sax on the album (and still plays on their records and tours today). But I enjoyed the doc.

What I loved about the DVD though, was a bonus feature with extended interviews with "Exile fans": Jack White, Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair, will.i.am and Caleb Followill from Kings Of Leon, as well as Martin Scorsese and Don Was.   I used to do interviews with rock stars, and I often was more interested in talking about things other than themselves - especially music that really, really meant a lot to them. Whoever did these interviews, I was definitely envious of, because these were the types of conversations I loved, back in the day. It was fascinating to see what Exile meant to these folks: to Jack White, it was an album that could confound rock critics, they could no longer box the Stones in. To Sheryl Crow, it was how they looked at the place where she was from, the south. will.i.am is one of the most proudly modern and commercial artists - but he likes the fact that it is an entire body of work, and part of a greater continuum of work, and one that isn't reliant on having hit singles.  It's the "cool" album to like, because it isn't as well known. Followill, the son of a preacher man, thought it sounded like the devil's music, and loved it. Don Was, an artist and producer (who has produced The Stones' records of the past 15 years) can't figure out what is on the essence of the album (which I'm sure some critics will have field day with).  And Liz Phair, as her fans know, has a pretty complex relationship with this particular record. Maybe the doc will get some Stones fans to pick up her debut, the classic Exile In Guyville. I know Mick, Keith and Charlie exec-produced the doc, but I would think that they might be weirded out by all of the things that everybody said about the album - not just Liz (but especially Liz!).

A cynic could say that they selected the artists they interviewed for marketing purposes, but I take a different point of view.  Through these interviews, you really see why the album, and the band is so relevant today. I give the main doc a B but this feature an A.

BEST OF THE 00s: SOLOMON BURKE

It's fine, go ahead and call it a comeback. Very few artists have had such a dramatic career revival after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than Solomon Burke. Maybe Santana. But when Solomon was inducted, in 2001, he was pretty much on the oldies circuit. He was a seminal force in the early days of rock and roll, thanks go gems like "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" and "Cry To Me." He was around when artists like Ray Charles were seemlessly merging country and R&B, and Solomon was able to do that also. But in 2001, no one was really listening for his new music. And then singer/songwriter Joe Henry came into his life.

The album that the two men created, 2002's Don't Give Up On Me, may be the greatest "comeback" album ever. Mr. Henry put out the call that he was looking for material for Mr. Burke's record, and a few people responded: Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Elvis Costello to name a few. You gotta check this one out.

I wish Solomon stuck with Joe Henry for the next album, but instead he moved on and worked with Don Was. I am a fan of Don's production, but I think he made the album, 2005's Make Do With What You've Got, a bit too slick. Still, there were some great performances here, such as on Dylan's Oh Mercy-gem "What Good Am I?," The Band's "It Makes No Difference" and The Rolling Stones' "I Got The Blues."

The following year, he teamed up with Buddy Miller for Nashville. This one was more stripped down, and was really gorgeous. It may not be as good as Don't Give Up On Me, but it's almost there. It's not a duets album, but there are few: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Gillian Welch are all on the album. All the duets are great, but the best performance on the album may be the opener, "That's How I Got To Memphis," on which Solomon is accompanied only by Buddy's guitar. This is another one of those records that you kind of have to have.

I wish he would have stuck with Buddy for another album (or reunited with Joe Henry), but he moved on again, this time working with Steve Jordan. The album, Like A Fire, was also a bit slick, but still had some great performances, including "A Minute To Rest And A Second To Pray" featuring Ben Harper.

In 2010, Solomon Burke will celebrate his 70th birthday. With over twenty children, over ninety grandchildren, and a couple of great-grandchildren, he could be excused if he decided to retire. But he reports on his website that he is going to be working with Al Green's producer, Willie Mitchell. While lots of people complain about how newer R&B artists don't have a vintage sound... well, stop worrying about it, and listen to a guy who is making some of the best music of his - or anyone else's -career. Thanks for still doing it, Mr. Solomon Burke. Consider your next album pre-ordered.