After an introductory collection of covers, Ramblin' On My Mind (Folkaways), Williams painted a humble fresco of southern female issues on Happy Woman Blues (Folkways, 1980), a loose mixture of bar ballads, rock riffs, square dances (I Lost It), catchy refrains (Maria, Hard Road). The album failed so badly that Williams did not re-enter a studio for nine years. In 1984 she moved to Los Angeles.

Lucinda Williams (Rought Trade, 1988) aligned her original blend of country, blues, cajun and gospel with the alternative rockers rather than the Nashville crowd. This album alone included more standards than most Nashville stars can use in an entire career: the jangling folk-rock of I Just Want To See You So Bad, the violin-drivenm, soulful Crescent City, the slow passionate singalong The Night's Too Long, the catchy tex-mex melody Big Red Sun Blues, the bluesy Changed the Locks, the poppy Passionate Kisses, the "Hawaian" lullaby Am I Too Blue, the stately hymn Side Of The Road.

Williams then took four more years to release Sweet Old World (Chameleon, 1993), boasting her poppiest tune, Six Blocks Away, besides love songs such as Something About What Happens When We Talk, the thrilling Hot Blood, Lines Around Your Eyes, and the funereal elegies He Never Got Enough Love, Little Angel and Sweet Old World.

Dopo l'obbligatorio album di covers, Ramblin' On My Mind (Folkaways), Lucinda Williams (originaria della Louisiana ma trapiantata in Texas) ebbe modo di presentare le sue idee sul cantautorato femminile del Sud con Happy Woman Blues (Folkways, 1980), carico di tensione da bar, di ritmi rock, di quadriglie sgangherate (I LOst It), di ritornelli pop (Maria, Hard Road). L'album fu un tale fallimento che per nove anni Williams non entro` piu` in uno studio discografico. Nel 1984 si trasferi` a Los Angeles.

Soltanto nel 1988 usci` l'album omonimo (per la Rough Trade), che la lancio` su scala nazionale con Passionate Kisses e Side Of The Road, e un'originale miscela di country, blues, cajun e gospel (I Just Want To See You So Bad, Big Red Sun Blues).

Con la stessa fortuna Williams impiego` poi altri quattro anni a far pubblicare Sweet Old World (Chameleon, 1993), forte del numero piu` pop della sua carriera, Six Blocks Away, di canzoni d'amore come Something About What Happens When We Talk, dell'atmosfera thriller di Hot Blood, Lines Around Your Eyes, e di elegie (letteralmente) funeree come He Never Got Enough Love, Little Angel e Sweet Old World.

Altre sue canzoni sono state interpretate da Patty Loveless (The Night's Too Long), Tom Petty (Changed the Locks), Emmylou Harris (Crescent City).

After that artistic triumph, it is a surprise to listen to Williams' suddenly reborn voice on Essence (Lost Highway, 2001). Aided by guitarist Charlie Sexton, the 48-year old Williams has composed a concept album about the sore ending of her relationship with a long-time companion. But the sorrow and the anger are channeled mostly through pop songs like Out Of Touch and Lonely Girls, hardly the Williams who caused panic with Drunken Angel. Another surprise are the almost anti-feminist postures embedded in sensual, even lusty, ballads like Essence ("You're my drug/ come on and let me/ taste your stuff") and Are You Down. The quintessential Lucinda Williams returns for the intimate lullabies of I Envy The Wind, Blue and Broken Butterflies. But the memorable song here may well be Get Right With God, a stomping cajun hoedown that could shine on a Taj Mahal album.

Relocated to Los Angeles, Williams returned to a simpler, grittier format, but World Without Tears (Lost Highway, 2003) is the same mixed blessing as the previous two albums, except that the slow ballads now tend to take over the rave-ups, although the themes (sex) remain disturbing and illuminating. Most of her music "is" in the lyrics (which are great by Nashville standards, but amateurish by any other standard), and that, of course, is not a good sign for the music. At best (the bluesy, visceral, sinister Atonement) she sounds like Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones and Neil Young all in one, but most often those elements are scattered around, to be picked up from the agonizing Fruits of My Labor, the lyrical Ventura, the gritty Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings and (especially) the suicidal Those Three Days. She raps her way through intense vignettes such as American Dream, Sweet Side and Righteously and never indulges in the atmosphere, a sign of maturity if not of genius.

Poisoned by life, Williams collapsed (musically speaking) on West (2007), a lame collection of bad ideas, culminating with the nine-minute obnoxious rap of Wrap My Head Around That. The class of the veteran is almost completely missing, replaced by a clumsy pretense of adult songwriting that rarely coalesces into mildly entertaining musical storytelling (Unsuffer Me, Rescue, Are You Alright) but mostly misfires.

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