Car Wheels On a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams

Car Wheels On a Gravel Road
by Lucinda Williams

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Car Wheels On a Gravel Road by Lucinda WilliamsCar Wheels on a Gravel Road, the fifth studio album by Lucinda Williams, is a highly acclaimed, awarded and influential 1998 record. In fact, several have credited its release as a pivotal moment in the course of folk and country roots music as well as the origin of the alternative country sub-genre. Further, this album’s rural lyrics about simple but relate able situations along with the excellent, earthy musical arrangements work to make it fresh and timeless decades after its release.

A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Williams began her music career in Austin and Houston, Texas in the mid 1970s. She developed a distinct blend of country folk and rock that led to her initial record deal and the 1978 release of her debut album Ramblin’ on My Mind. In the 1980s, Williams relocated to Nashville and began receiving critical acclaim and scored a minor hit with her 1988 self-titled album. 1992’s Sweet Old World had even more modest commercial success but was widely recognized for its fine songwriting. It would be six years before Williams, a recording perfectionist, would release her much-anticipated follow-up.

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, commenced recording in 1995, shortly after Williams signed with American Recordings. The original version of the album was made with producer Gurf Morlix in Austin, Texas. However, Williams shelved that version and started over in Nashville with co-producers Steve Earle and Roy Bittan and a large ensemble of Nashville session players.


Car Wheels On a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams
Released: June 30, 1998 (Mercury)
Produced by: Roy Bittan, Steve Earle, Ray Kennedy & Lucinda Williams
Recorded: Room and Board Studio, Nashville, & Rumbo Studio, Canoga Park, CA, 1995-1998
Track Listing Primary Musicians
Right in Time
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
2 Kool 2 Be 4-gotten
Drunken Angel
Concrete and Barbed Wire
Lake Charles
Can’t Let Go
I Lost It
Metal Firecracker
Greenville
Still I Long For Your Kiss
Joy
Jackson
Lucinda Williams – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Dobro
Gurf Morlix – Guitars, Vocals
John Ciambotti – Bass
Donald Lindley – Drums, Percussion
 
Car Wheels On a Gravel Road by Lucinda Williams

 

The album commences with “Right in Time”, a minor hit with a twangy overall sound (but not so overt as modern country) and, ultimately, a moderate and pleasant mixture of layered guitars. The title track “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” has even more refined and methodical musical elements as a patient yet energetic track which melodically has an almost new wave rock approach. “2 Kool 2 Be 4-gotten” starts off with a potent drum shuffle before more subtle guitars, a bass fill in the cool rhythms and a subtle accordion by Bittan. Although the extreme laid back vocals may be a little too staged, overall this is the best song of the opening trio.

“Drunken Angel” makes a strong statement as an Americana alt country staple with pure nineties grunge pop vocals and attitude, while “Concrete and Barbed Wire” reverts to an acoustic country waltz with a building arrangement throughout while staying within the old-time country realm. The storytelling “Lake Charles” features a strong beat with steady, thumping bass by Ciambotti and some slide guitar. The Randy weeks cover “Can’t Let Go” features Mississippi Delta like acoustic blues with a nice shuffle percussion beat and twin slide electric guitars on top.

Lucinda Williams

The album’s second half features an array of quality tracks with the standard alt country pop song “I Lost It”, a post-mordem on a lost relationship on “Metal Firecracker”, and the emotional country ballad “Greenville”, which features Emmylou Harris on harmony vocals. “Still I Long For Your Kiss” was co-written by Duane Jarvis, while “Joy” is built on rotating acoustic and electric bluesy riffs during its long intro and droning song proper. The quiet acoustic closer “Jackson”completes the record in a very moody and beautiful way.

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road became Williams’ first Gold album and won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. The crossover success of this album led to Williams touring with top-notch legends such as Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in support of the album.

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1998 Page

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1998 albums.

More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads

More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads

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More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking HeadsThe second album by Talking Heads, 1978’s More Songs About Buildings and Food got its sarcastic title by addressing the cliche of the “sophomore jinx” where songs not used on the debut are combined with inferior and underdeveloped new compositions. However, that “jinx” was obliterated here as the quirky new wave quartet found decent commercial success and widespread critical acclaim for their fine combination of standard motifs and inventive techniques, perfect for that era of popular music.

Composer, guitarist and vocalist David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz were all alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design and formed their first band in 1973 before migrating to New York City in 1975. Getting their name from a TV Guide article, Talking Heads were signed to Sire Records in November 1976 and added keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison early in 1977. The group’s debut album, Talking Heads 77 found decent success in part due to the single “Psycho Killer”, which hit the airwaves around the same time as New York City was embroiled in the “summer of Sam”.

More Songs About Buildings and Food was the first of a trilogy collaboration between the group and producer Brian Eno, who took their raw sound and emphasized on more danceable rhythms to fuse a unique vibe for Byrne’s art/rock compositions. On this album the group also started their long tradition of recording in the Bahamas at Compass Studios.


More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads
Released: July 14, 1978 (Sire)
Produced by: Brian Eno & Talking Heads
Recorded: Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, March–April 1978
Side One Side Two
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
With Our Love
The Good Thing
Warning Sign
The Girls Want to Be with the Girls
Found a Job
Artists Only
I’m Not in Love
Stay Hungry
Take Me to the River
The Big Country
Group Musicians
David Byrne – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Percussion
Jerry Harrison – Piano, Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals
Tina Weymouth – Bass, Vocals
Chris Frantz – Drums, Percussion

 

A rapid shuffle above a pointed hard rock riff defines the sound of “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel”, with extra percussion between the verses. This opening track acts as sort of a bridge between the debut album’s tension and the bigger rhythmic sound of this album. “With Our Love” follows with a rather spazzy funk feel in the verses, while “The Good Thing” is the most accessible song thus far with an upbeat yet smooth, rounded sound led by Weymouth’s bass and odd but catchy harmonized refrains. Co-written by Frantz, “Warning Sign” features a drum beat with exaggerated reverb joined by catchy bass and guitar riff in long intro before the song proper develops into choppy new wave track.

“The Girls Want to Be with the Girls” may be the first track where the group seems to try too hard to force a quirkly style and it ends up feeling disjointed, while the side one closer “Found a Job” features pure funk verses and new wave rock choruses. Side two begins with “Artists Only”, a song which explores several pleasant styles in rapid fashion, while “I’m Not in Love” moves back to funk but with driving, rapid rhythms as it makes its way through many odd sections before completing with an entertaining quasi-guitar lead jam. “Stay Hungry” is a shorter funk/jam featuring much synth influence by Eno.

Talking Heads

By far, the album’s commercial anchor is its only cover song, a distinct version of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” featuring a sound that defines an eighties hit while still in the late 1970s. The deliberative rhythm method and fine production technique brought the group a worldwide Top 40 crossover hit. The album ends with the pleasant sonics of “The Big Country” with a fine mixture of acoustic and electric and a slide/country vibe topped by a steady drum beat.

More Songs About Buildings and Food peaked in the Top 30 of the Pop Albums charts and eventually reached gold record status. Eno and the Talking Heads continued this successful formula with 1979’s Fear of Music and the hit album Remain in Light in 1980.

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1978 Images

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1978 albums.

 

Stunt by Barenaked Ladies

Stunt by Barenaked Ladies

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Stunt by Barenaked LadiesIn 1998, the fourth studio album by Barenaked Ladies became their commercial breakthrough and ultimately, their most successful album. Stunt features a refined set of this Canadian group’s brand of quirky and creative lyrics which give the impression that they are either geniuses or on the verge of a nervous breakdown (or both). This is set to a fine array of melodic and musical passages with the use of various styles (jangly pop, alt-country, bossa nova, blue-eyed rap, and even a bit of psychedelic rock) to keep it all interesting. The formula worked as the album sold several million copies and topped the charts in the US.

The roots of Barenaked Ladies began in the late eighties in Toronto with the duo of guitarists/vocalists Steven Page and Ed Robertson. From the start, the two performed in an improvised and nearly comical manner (the group’s name came from one improvised skit) and they often opened for a popular comedy group. By the summer of 1990, bassist Jim Creeggan and drummer Tyler Stewart were part of the group and 1991’s The Yellow Tape, originally recorded as a demo tape, became their initial album release. When the band was taken off the bill for a New Year’s Eve concert in Toronto because a political staffer objected to their name, a media story about political correctness gone too far brought the group a surge in publicity, leading to the band being signed to Reprise/Sire Records in April 1992. Over the next four years the band released three studio albums, Gordon (1992), Maybe You Should Drive (1994) and Born on a Pirate Ship (1996), as well as the 1997 live record, Rock Spectacle.

Co-produced by David Leonard, Susan Rogers and the group, Stunt is the first studio album to feature keyboardist and guitarist Kevin Hearn. Fifteen songs were recorded for the album, with thirteen appearing on the original version and the tracks “Long Way Back Home” and “She’s On Time” appearing as “hidden tracks” on limited edition versions of the album.


Stunt by Barenaked Ladies
Released: July 7, 1998 (Reprise)
Produced by: David Leonard, Susan Rogers & Barenaked Ladies
Recorded: February–March 1998
Track Listing Primary Musicians
One Week
It’s All Been Done
Light Up My Room
I’ll Be That Girl
Leave
Alcohol
Call and Answer
In the Car
Never Is Enough
Who Needs Sleep?
Told You So
Some Fantastic
When You Dream
Steven Page – Guitars, Vocals
Ed Robertson – Guitars, Percussion, Vocals
Kevin Hearn – Piano, Keyboards, Banjo
Jim Creeggan – Bass, Cello, Vocals
Tyler Stewart – Drums, Percussion
 
Stunt by Barenaked Ladies

 

The album begins with the band’s highest charting single in both the US and the UK, and odd, quasi rap about a lover’s quarrel sandwiched between main hooks, which make it a highly original and unlikely smash hit. During the rapid raps there are alternating passages of pop culture references and personal anecdotes and, ironically, a similar live version of the song never fully materialized. Page’s “It’s All Been Done”, another hit from the album, follows as a jangly power pop anthem, complete with chanting “oohs”. a nice creeping Hammond by organ by Hearn, and some complex harmonies as the song progresses.

“Light Up My Room” is a pleasant folk/rock ballad which starts with a moderate arrangement and features a distinct drum shuffle by Stewart throughout, while “I’ll Be That Girl” has an almost country-esque feel but with a rock edge and just a bit of Barenaked Ladies oddness. Robertson’s “Leave” starts as an almost bluegrass acoustic tune but quickly incorporates rock elements, maturing into one of the more pleasant sounding songs on the album, in sharp contrast to the basic three-chord rock stomp of “Alcohol”, an odd philosophical turn of a drinking song, complete with party chanting and an electric piano lead.

Barenaked Ladies

The second half of the album features several more fine tunes, from the inventive “Call and Answer” to the old Western feel of “In the Car” to the bouncy “Never Is Enough”, featuring some electronic effects for light fun. “Who Needs Sleep?” is a melodic ode to the “pleasures of insomnia”, featuring some slight flute riffs by Page, while “Told You So” is straight-forward acoustic pop. “Some Fantastic” is the best of this bunch as a pleasant, Caribbean flavored rocker with inventive piano riffs by Hearn, a percussive blend by Stewart, and plenty of variety in both music and vocal melody with two lead vocalists trading off throughout. The spacey “When You Dream” completes the album with probably its slowest tempo and a surreal feel throughout

Shortly after Stunt‘s release of the album, Hearn was diagnosed with leukemia and had to be replaced during the subsequent tour. The group’s commercial momentum continued into the new century with several songs featured in television, movies and commercials and additional success on future albums.

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1998 Page

Part of Classic Rock Review’s celebration of 1998 albums.