Lucinda Williams - West (2007)*
I like Lucinda Williams. I thought her last record, World Without Tears was one of the best of 2003. This one, however, is nearly unlistenable. The only track I liked is "Learning How to Live" and it is starting to wear thin. All the rest are mind-numbingly repetitive, not just musically, but lyrically. The first track, "Are You Alright?" is mainly that phrase repeated endlessly, relentlessly. There is very little songwriting going on here. I understand she has been through a great deal of pain and feels her music helps her get through that, but it seems as though in this instance she's merely pushing the pain onto us instead of transforming it for our benefit. Very disappointing.