West

Having heard a lot of these tracks at her recent gigs, I thought it was going to be easy to love this album. In fact I thought it was going to be her masterpiece, all catchy melodies and perfectly crafted lyrics. I nearly burst with anticipation waiting for the release date.

Multiple listenings later, I feel like a party pooper, because it all just sounds a bit lazy and plodding. The problem for me is the sub-Lanois production. Lucinda sounds just fine in a stripped-down band setting, but here she's treated with strings, atmosphere, and more twiddly bits than you might care to remember, and it all just gets in the way. Great musicians doing nothing special, slowly. As a result it all sounds the same with no natural dynamics or colour, and Lucinda sounds like she's on auto-pilot throughout. The best comparison I can think of is the mess Phil Spector made of Leonard Cohen on Death Of A Ladies Man.

The search for studio atmosphere seems to have had a negative impact on her song writing too, because a lot of the craft has been reduced to stream of consciousness repetition. And it's had the same effect on Doug Pettibone - I don't hear anything here to compare with his extraordinary playing on World Without Tears or Live at the Filmore. There are no songs here to lift your spirits in the way Ventura or Overtime can. It particularly irritates me that this production makes me focus on the shallow styling rather than the content of the songs, which is at the heart of Lucinda's appeal.

So that's it, ho hum. I'm glad she's tried something exploratory and different.I'm just really, really, disappointed it turned out so smooth and pleasant in all the worst kind of ways. I think its a wrong turn, let's hope a temporary one.

This is a charming album of simple and heartfelt songs, mostly gentle but intimately powerful. I found the approach thoroughly engaging, with sparse production and instrumentation complementing the lyrics and Lucinda's vocals. The simplicity of 'Mama you Sweet' (with one very long verse) draws you in to the emotion of the song. 'Are You Alright' and 'Where is my Love' are great, beautiful songs and Jenny Scheinman's expressive violin adds a unique layer to the arrangements.

I thought some of the songs could have been shorter, and that the CD might have been better with a few tracks omitted. The album isn't full of instant hits but reveals itself over time, and is well worth taking the time to get to know it.

Lucinda offers her eighth piece of work after a very difficult period-including the death of her mother and the end of a long-term relationship.So she takes us along a journey through her soul occasionaly producing brilliant song like UNSUFFER ME (dark like coming from Nick Cave) and , my favorite, RESCUE, which drifts along like a river in the middle of the night.With almost 10minutes in duration WRAP MY HEART AROUND THAT is a proof of rhythmic pulses and liberating her conscience.

Maybe not her masterpiece but definetely confirming her remarkable talent.