Little Honey Goes A Long Way For Lucinda Williams

Even when she writes a happy song, Lucinda Williams can’t help but sing it as if she’s lived too long in the throes of sadness. It’s a signet of her sound, intuitively ingrained and imparted in her voice’s weathered drawl.

So when she declares, “I’ve found the love I’ve been looking for/ It’s a real love,” in the rambunctious opening track of Little Honey, Williams almost seems more relieved than elated. And while love does inspire most of its songs, the predominant theme of the album is, in a word, endurance.

Whether she’s pining with heartbreak or struggling to cope through other trying circumstances, Williams renders a poignant, unvarnished portrait of someone just trying to emotionally survive in this world. She chastises herself for letting her sweetheart go in the mournful sway of “If Wishes Were Horses” as she achingly pleads for him to come back. Accentuated by country and gospel subtleties, “Circles and X’s” finds Williams lamenting in the bittersweet role of the other woman while “Knowing” sees her recognizing a good thing after missing out for too long.

Though she admittedly harbors weaknesses and suffers fools at times, Williams gets wise in “Jailhouse Tears,” taking Elvis Costello to task for not only getting thrown in the slammer, but also for stealing her truck and, incidentally, her heart. Doing his part to save face (and make bail), Costello insists, “I just went to the corner/ To get a cold six-pack,” to which Williams indignantly counters, “You’re a drunk, you’re a stoner/ You never came back.”

With more rewarding prospects in mind, Williams lays claim to her convictions, reconciling her faith in “Heaven Blues” as well as her fidelity in “Plan To Marry,” the latter yielding an epiphany of sorts. After pondering matrimony’s saving grace with disillusionment and suffering all around, she contentedly resolves, “Love is our weapon/ Love is the lesson.” For Williams, such is what makes commitment ultimately worthwhile.

And so it’s with an irascibly defiant cover of AC/DC’s “It’s A Long Way To the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)” that Lucinda Williams makes her final stand. When she sings, “I tell you, folks/ It’s harder than it looks,” she’s not just spouting off about the toil and pitfalls of a rock and roll life. She’s underscoring the effort of life itself, which is what she achieves throughout Little Honey with insight and authenticity.

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Do It Again: Top Cover Songs of 2007

Something intriguing occurs when an artist or band takes on someone else’s song. The interpreter may cover that song by adhering to hallmarks of the original version, but hopefully enough distinctiveness shines through to make it a worthwhile performance and not merely a facsimile. Here are ten of the best cover songs from this past year.

10) “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” – Velvet Revolver
Album: Libertad

One of ELO’s sweetest brews gets spiked with something a bit more virulent. Velvet Revolver plays in hard-rock mode yet preserves the original track’s melodic sensibilities. Slash stirs in a beguiling guitar performance, and the song sounds intoxicating in a whole new light.

9) “Paper Moon” – Erin McKeown
Album: Sing You Sinners

Ms. McKeown plays it cute and sassy, turning this swingin’ old song into a bouncy little ditty that would’ve made Sinatra blush.

8) “Goin’ Out West” – Queens of the Stone Age
Album: Sick, Sick, Sick [EP]

One of Tom Waits’ most fuel-injected tracks shifts into high-octane overdrive with QOTST behind the wheel. One can almost picture Waits and QOTST racing cross-country, barreling toward the same squalid destination.

7) “Stuck Inside Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”: Cat Power
Album: I’m Not There OST

At times it seems like she’s trying to inject Bob Dylan’s inflections on this, but Cat Power can’t escape the viscous essence of her own voice. For a woman known for delivering remarkable covers, this one ranks as one her finest.

6) “Court And Spark” – Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
Album: River: The Joni Letters

Norah Jones slips into this song with sophisticated ease, her sultry voice wafting above Hancock’s sparse and measured arrangement. Joni Mitchell’s songs pose a certain amount of complexity for any interpreter, but Norah Jones consummately succeeds.

5) “Longer” – Babyface
Album: Playlist

Babyface’s tender rendition of this timeless love song would have made this list by its own merit anyway, but now it holds added poignancy in light of Dan Fogelberg’s untimely passing.

4) “You Sexy Thing” – Stereophonics
Album: Radio 1 Established 1967 [UK import]

To start, Kelley Jones wails his raspy voice over a crude guitar and it almost feels like we’re in for a slow, folksy rendition of this Hot Chocolate gem. Then, at the 25-second mark, Stereophonics lay down the proverbial funk and proceed to get their ever-loving groove on.

3) “I Am The Walrus” – Bono & Secret Machines
Album: Across The Universe OST

Chaotic music and trippy effects swirl and scrape as Bono brings an unbridled ferocity to one of The Beatles most psychedelic compositions. Goo goo g’joob.

2) “Gimme Shelter” – Patti Smith
Album: Twelve

The Rolling Stones made an ominous apocalypse sound erotic and eerie. Patti Smith, with her unembellished yet poetic gravitas, makes such a prospect seem unnervingly imminent.

1) "(Just Like) Starting Over" – The Flaming Lips
Album: Instant Karma! The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur

By distilling John Lennon’s original to its quintessence, the Flaming Lips impart this song with ethereal tenderness. Wayne Coyne sings it almost with a lump in his throat. His vulnerable sincerity will surely put a lump in yours.

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