Ouch.
Williams Leaves Crowd Unimpressed
virginmega.com
Lucinda Williams' upcoming album, Essence,
includes a song titled “Out of Touch.” As it
turns out, maybe she is.
Fans who caught her Friday (3/16)
performance at the Austin Music Hall, one of
the most anticipated of Austin's 15th annual
South By Southwest Music Festival, were left
with a sour aftertaste – and it wasn't from
margaritas. Williams' new material either
sounded redundant or ill-fitted to her
alt-country style.
“Blue” and “I Envy the Wind,” two “Sweet Old
World”-styled laments she performed early on, were snail-crawl slow
and borderline droning, and seemed like rhinestone imitations of
earlier gems. With the title song of the June 5 release, she went for a
reggae-lounge, lightly Brazilian approach – and it felt contrived. “Get
Right With God,” with its country-punk twang, was better, but even on
her rocking classic “Joy,” Williams' voice was off – shrill and sometimes
flat. Maybe that's why she skipped her encores.
Kim Richey and Ryan Adams, two other featured performers at the
Lost Highway Records showcase, did much better. But
ex-Whiskeytown genius Adams so desperately wants to be Keith
Richards, he's taken to obvious riff theft. His opening tune, “Candy
Dog,” sounded more like a cross between “Street Fighting Man” and
“Brown Sugar” than an original. The rest of his set referenced the
New York Dolls, the Ramones, Tom Petty and his beloved Paul
Westerberg. His new songs are rock whiskey hard, but are a far cry
from his Whiskeytown eloquence. That's no crime, but Ryan shouldn't
downplay his formidable lyrical and melodic prowess. (Not that anyone
could really tell what he was singing, the sound was so messy.)
The sweet-voiced Richey presented a set full of strong new melodies,
bolstered by words filled with the sometimes regret-twinged
pragmatism that comes from some hard knocks, some lost loves and a
dream worth holding on to – even if it's a dream deferred.
- Lynne Margolis
March 21, 2001 |
