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It's clear that Lucinda Williams is troubled by current times. But the prodigiously talented singer-songwriter, having made significant recovery from the 2020 stroke that impacted her mobility and guitar playing, sounds energized by the confrontations that lie ahead.
World's Gone Wrong offers not only criticism but also a plea for sanity. In the title track opener, Williams lays out her indictment, "They can see what's going down/ Empty houses all over town/ So many lost are never found/ And bad, bad signs are all around," before adding that resistance is not futile, "Come on baby/ We gotta be strong/ Dark days are getting long/ Looking for comfort in a song." She aims at persistent racial issues in the slow rocker, "Black Tears," concluding, "400 years is long enough/ How long will they rain down/ You know it's a sad, sad, sad, sad sound/ When those tears hit the ground." Her insights and criticisms sharpen as the album plays on.
In "Punchline," Williams lays out her motivations behind the album, "Should I leave it unspoken/ Should I ever wonder/ When the world is broken/ And we all fall under." She returns to her native Louisiana in "Low Life," where she slowly sways to a jukebox playing Slim Harpo, "There's a place where they don't know my face/ And the bartender makes good hurricanes/ And the highballs are a buck twenty-five/ And the walls come alive." She rocks up the mix in "Sing Unburied Sing," which benefits from the work of guitarists Marc Ford and Doug Pettibone.
World's Gone Wrong is a prime example of Williams' band of old pros—drummer Brady Blade, bassist David Sutton, standout lead guitar player Pettibone, second guitarist Ford and keyboardists Rob Burger and Reese Wynans—at work. Its immediate, sinewy sound is also a masterful example of the work of longtime Nashville production wiz Ray Kennedy. Guest vocalists Siobhan M. Kennedy, Brittney Spencer, Maureen Murphy, Norah Jones, and Mavis Staples all add body to Williams' raw and gritty singing.
While Williams wrote or co-wrote every track here, her vocal collaboration with Staples on Bob Marley's "So Much Trouble in the World" is the album's most surprising success. A welcome return to prime Lucinda Williams. © Robert Baird/Qobuz
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Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Brittney Spencer, FeaturedArtist - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer, MixingEngineer, RecordingEngineer - Daniel Bacigalupi, MasteringSecondEngineer - Pete Lyman, MasteringEngineer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Brittney Spencer, FeaturedArtist - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Adrianne Leniker, Composer - Alexander Buckley Meek, Composer - James Krivchenia, Composer - Travis Stephens, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - Tom Overby, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Domino Publishing (ASCAP), MusicPublisher - Domino Publishing (SESAC), MusicPublisher - Invisible Songs (SESAC), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist - Mavis Staples, FeaturedArtist - Bob Marley, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - Tom Overby, Producer - FIFTY SIX HOPE ROAD MUSIC (ASCAP), MusicPublisher - Unlimited, MusicPublisher - PRIMARY WAVE/BLUE MOUNTAIN (NS), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Marc Ford, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher - LITTLE CHAIR MUSIC (BMI - admin by PEER MUSIC), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Tom Overby, Composer, Producer - Doug Pettibone, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - MINNESOTA SLIM MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher - Elescorpion Music (ASCAP), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Lucinda Williams, MainArtist, Composer - Ray Kennedy, Producer - Tom Overby, Producer - HIGHWAY 20 MUSIC (BMI), MusicPublisher
(P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Review: Lucinda Williams - World's Gone Wrong
It's clear that Lucinda Williams is troubled by current times. But the prodigiously talented singer-songwriter, having made significant recovery from the 2020 stroke that impacted her mobility and guitar playing, sounds energized by the confrontations that lie ahead.
World's Gone Wrong offers not only criticism but also a plea for sanity. In the title track opener, Williams lays out her indictment, "They can see what's going down/ Empty houses all over town/ So many lost are never found/ And bad, bad signs are all around," before adding that resistance is not futile, "Come on baby/ We gotta be strong/ Dark days are getting long/ Looking for comfort in a song." She aims at persistent racial issues in the slow rocker, "Black Tears," concluding, "400 years is long enough/ How long will they rain down/ You know it's a sad, sad, sad, sad sound/ When those tears hit the ground." Her insights and criticisms sharpen as the album plays on.
In "Punchline," Williams lays out her motivations behind the album, "Should I leave it unspoken/ Should I ever wonder/ When the world is broken/ And we all fall under." She returns to her native Louisiana in "Low Life," where she slowly sways to a jukebox playing Slim Harpo, "There's a place where they don't know my face/ And the bartender makes good hurricanes/ And the highballs are a buck twenty-five/ And the walls come alive." She rocks up the mix in "Sing Unburied Sing," which benefits from the work of guitarists Marc Ford and Doug Pettibone.
World's Gone Wrong is a prime example of Williams' band of old pros—drummer Brady Blade, bassist David Sutton, standout lead guitar player Pettibone, second guitarist Ford and keyboardists Rob Burger and Reese Wynans—at work. Its immediate, sinewy sound is also a masterful example of the work of longtime Nashville production wiz Ray Kennedy. Guest vocalists Siobhan M. Kennedy, Brittney Spencer, Maureen Murphy, Norah Jones, and Mavis Staples all add body to Williams' raw and gritty singing.
While Williams wrote or co-wrote every track here, her vocal collaboration with Staples on Bob Marley's "So Much Trouble in the World" is the album's most surprising success. A welcome return to prime Lucinda Williams. © Robert Baird/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:47:31
- Main artists: Lucinda Williams
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Highway 20 Records
- Genre: Blues/Country/Folk Country
(C) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2026 Highway 20 Records marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
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