Amazon.co.uk Review
This 1998 Grammy-winning release--Lucinda Williams's popular breakthrough--certainly merits the double-disc "deluxe edition" treatment. And it's hard to find significant fault with anything here: the remastered version of the original album, the second-disc live performance from that year featuring guitarists Kenny Vaughn and Bo Ramsey, and the smattering of outtakes (highlighted by a slower, sadder version of "Out of Touch" than the one Williams ended up releasing). Yet the set misses a glorious opportunity to document one of the more laborious (and notorious) recording projects, one that saw Williams switch cities, studios, and producers three times before she was satisfied with the results. And while the results confirm her judgment, fans would likely find it fascinating to hear a lot more takes from the original Austin sessions (featuring accordion master Flaco Jimenez and keyboardist Ian McLagan) or outtakes from the Nashville sessions with producer Steve Earle, before Williams overhauled the project in Los Angeles with Springsteen keyboardist Roy Bittan. Such a set could have put a revelatory spotlight on the creative process that resulted in an album widely regarded as Williams's masterpiece; instead, this release is more like souvenir snapshots.
--Don McLeese
Description
Williams's fans waited a long six years for this album, as Lucinda went through music business hassles and a revolving door of producers. The reward for their patience is an albumfull of rootsy, heartfelt observations that alternately rock and mourn. CAR WHEELS is full of songs about loss and longing, like "Metal Firecracker", "Drunken Angel" and "I Lost It", but even when she's bemoaning her own lack of happiness on the bluesy "Joy", she lets loose with so much passion that it seems inevitable she'll find her emotional center again.
Produced largely by Steve Earle, CAR WHEELS is immersedin that late-'90s alt-country sound, full of slide guitar, accordion, dobro and other Americana touches. It's a tributeto Williams's unique artistic vision that she distinguishesherself from the No Depression crowd by virtue of her idiosyncratic songwriting. Full of lust, sadness and the occasional glimmer of hope, CAR WHEELS is one small step for LucindaWilliams and one giant leap for those tuned into her wavelength.