Lucinda Williams caught up with Tone Deaf from Nashville where she had just completed a fabulous show with Roseanne Cash and Emmylou Harris. Williams sounded elated from the glow of that trio performing together, eager to talk about her new double record, Where The Spirit Meets The Bone, and her recent reinvigorated writing streak.

With only 10 studio albums released in her 36 year recording career, Williams is not known for being the most prolific songwriter. Quantity may not be her thing, but the quality of her output, arguably has her ranked alongside Kristofferson, Dylan, Young and others of that class. Her lyricism and her ability to turn songs into a melodic journey is part of the pleasure and that signature vocal style is a talent that just pulls you right into the tales she spins.

Where The Spirit Meets The Bone is an extraordinary collection of music from Williams. From rock and roll soul, she has given us more music at once than ever before and she let us know that more is on the way. Running her own record label, Highway 20, has given her a little bit more freedom to run with the ball as she wants.

“We are getting ready to put out the next record in January. The majority of it we recorded at the same time we cut the songs on the last album. Over the last few months I wrote 4 more new songs that we just cut so we are going to have some decision making around what we put on the record. I have been on a bit of a roll lately”, Williams drawled. The bulk of the unreleased record contains material with her touring band, Buick 6, plus the added guitar virtuosity of Bill Frisell.

The title of the new record is a tip of the hat to her late Dad, the lauded poet Miller Williams. The song Compassion, from which the album title is derived, is from a poem written by Mr. Williams. Heartbreak and love gone wrong were the themes and the impetus that coloured her music in the past. Her blood and guts were written deep into her music. With Williams now in her early 60’s and settled down into a sweet marriage, what are the forces that drive her imagination and creativity today?

“I think the main thing is getting older and getting more experienced as a writer, but also major losses, that occur as you get older. It is something that you don’t experience when you are younger and you can’t compare anything to losing your Mother and then you’re Father. It just leaves a hole in your heart. It really started, the prolificiness (sic), about 2004 when my Mother died. A lot of people don’t realise that when I put the ‘West’ (2007) album out I had enough songs for a double album then and I wanted to put one out at that time. I was on the Lost Highway label at the time and for business reasons they did not want me to do that. I just utilised my creative outlet and took advantage of it and here came all of the songs”, Williams explained.

Lucinda Williams pulls ideas for music from wherever they may come from. ‘Protection’, and outstanding song on the new record, was influenced in an interesting way by an Adele tune.
“One night we went to see this guy, whose name I can’t recall (Ryan Tedder), but he co-wrote or wrote some of the songs that were on that Adele hit album that I love. We went to see him play and he was acoustic and he wrote that song Rumour Has It (as she sings it down the phone line). It was interesting because he played that song acoustically. Something clicked with me hearing that song played that way. So shortly after hearing him live I went and wrote ‘Protection’, from the new record, because I was inspired by what he did”, stated Williams.

This new double record may be coloured by mortality and heading towards the pointy end of life, but this is not a dark record. This is a collection of songs that are filled with rock and country soul, as Lucinda puts it. Some tracks germinated during this writing binge and some were hanging around for a little bit and she re-worked them for the release. Not only was she influenced by circumstances but she is greatly swayed by what she is listening to when she goes into the studio.

She told us she was listening to a Fame Record’s collection before went into the studio. Fame was the heartbeat of Muscle Shoals Alabama and artists such as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and many others worked some magic down there under that banner. If you are familiar with any of that genre you will understand quick smart some of the production and music on this sprawling record.

Guest artists are usually found within her records, but usually the mainstay will be her present touring band. On Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, she is joined by a different rhythm section. These 2 gentleman have their own bar band called Jackshit, but they are better known as members of Elvis Costello’s band.

“It was a little bit of a change up and we had worked together in the past. We did another project together, a benefit or a tribute album, and I recorded a version of the Boz Scaggs recording, Loan Me a Dime (a Fenton Robinson composition). I cut that song with the Jackshit guys and it came out just brilliant. Pete Thomas and Davey Farragher just have that thing with that soul and R n B style of music and I spoke to Tom (Overby-her husband and manager) and he thought it was a great idea to mix it up a bit”, Williams said.

Collaborations and side projects are always sources of inspiration for Williams. She told us that she cut ‘Everything But The Truth’ with Johnny Depp’s band as part of an album of songs influenced by the Lone Ranger. The song was re-recorded for the new record and she explained it was written with the idea of the credo or ideology of Lone Ranger as a framework.

Great guitarists are always part of the mix for Lucinda. Whether it be Doug Pettibone, Stuart Mathis, Bill Frissell, Jonathan Wilson or Gurf Morlix, there are always some amazing six string players on her records. The impact they have on her art comes from what takes place in the studio, other relationships or even strife that has come before.

For example Jonathan Wilson, Laurel Canyon resident and multi-instrumentalist and producer, she met while doing a Jackson Browne tribute record that he produced in his home studio in California. Wilson plays on ‘Burning Bridges’ which was written about another one of her former band members, Gurf Morlix, who departed the scene after disagreements about the production of her break through record, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road.

“I am not supposed to talk about him. He sent me an email and said stop talking about me. It’s ridiculous. The only reason I brought him up was because someone in an interview asked me whatever happened to blah-blah. I said what I thought the problem was and that was that Gurf was a bit befuddled that I wanted to bring Steve Earle in to produce some tracks and Gurf wanted to be the only producer and that was a pretty straight up and simple take on it. So he emailed me and said that’s not what happened. You told the story all wrong, he insisted. And I just think, then why doesn’t he just tell the story then”, laughed Williams.

Egos were bruised there it sounds, but life is too short to hold onto that sort of drama. Williams did try to mend some issues with Morlix at one of his gigs recently but he would not even come out to say hello to her after the show, so I guess time does not always heal all wounds. Lucinda sounds at peace with the entire episode and in matters of life and death lack of credit on a record is such a small thing in the scheme of things.

Lucinda Williams will be touring Australia in late November and December. Two new shows have been announced and the full tour details are below. Make sure you check out this iconic songwriter and performer while she is down here. If you really want to hear what you might get live, check out her live release recorded at The Fillmore (2005), it will definitely put you in the right state of mind. Meanwhile, immerse yourself in Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, it is a lengthy but the most enjoyable musical journey Lucinda Williams has ever delivered.

Lucinda Williams Australian Tour Dates

Wed 2 Dec
Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW

Mon 7 Dec
Forum Theatre, Melbourne, VIC * sold out

Tue 8 Dec
Prince Of Wales, Melbourne, VIC * new show

Thu 10 Dec
The Odean Theatre Hobart, TAS * new show

A Day On The Green Shows

Sat 28 Nov
Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley NSW

Sun 29 Nov
Sirromet Wines, Mt Cotton QLD

Sun 06 Dec
Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley VIC

Sat 12 Dec
Peter Lehmann Wines, Barossa Valley SA

Sun 13 Dec
Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth WA

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