Essence (Lucinda Williams album)
Essence | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 5, 2001 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 50:58 | |||
Label | Lost Highway | |||
Producer |
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Lucinda Williams chronology | ||||
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Essence is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on June 5, 2001, by Lost Highway Records.[3] The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 28, selling approximately 44,500 copies in its first week.[4] By 2008, it had sold 336,000 copies in the U.S.[5]
The album earned Williams a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album. She also won in the category of Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the song "Get Right With God" and was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the title track.
Critical reception[]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 82/100[3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Blender | [7] |
Chicago Sun-Times | [2] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[8] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[9] |
Los Angeles Times | [1] |
Q | [10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
Spin | 8/10[13] |
Essence was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on 11 reviews.[3] Reviewers observed a departure from Williams' similarly acclaimed 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, with Rolling Stone citing the "willful intimacy" in Essence's music[11] and Spin contrasting the "halting, spare" presentation with its predecessor's "giddy, verbose" one.[13] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau found it "imperfect" but still praised Williams' artistry, saying "[she] is too damn good to deny."[8] Salon regarded the album as "an emotional mess of a masterpiece".[14] Q listed Essence as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[15]
Track listing[]
All songs written by Lucinda Williams
- "Lonely Girls" – 4:01
- "Steal Your Love" – 3:14
- "I Envy the Wind" – 3:12
- "Blue" – 3:52
- "Out of Touch" – 5:25
- "Are You Down" – 5:24
- "Essence" – 5:50
- "Reason to Cry" – 3:39
- "Get Right with God" – 4:16
- "Bus to Baton Rouge" – 5:50
- "Broken Butterflies" – 5:41
Personnel[]
- Lucinda Williams – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jim Keltner – drums
- Tony Garnier – bass, acoustic guitar
- Bo Ramsey – electric guitar
- Charlie Sexton – drums, hand drum, rhythm guitar, Hammond B3 organ, piano, background vocals, tremolo slide guitar
- Reese Wynans – Hammond B3 organ
- Jim Lauderdale – harmony vocals
Additional musicians:
- David Mansfield – viola
- Ryan Adams – tremolo guitar ("Essence")
- Gary Louris – background vocals ("Essence")
- Joy Lynn White – background vocals ("Get Right With God", "Bus to Baton Rouge", "Broken Butterflies")
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nichols, Natalie (June 3, 2001). "Rawer This Time Around". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Houlihan, Mary (June 10, 2001). "Lucinda Williams, 'Essence' (Lost Highway)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Reviews for Essence by Lucinda Williams". Metacritic. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ Martens, Todd (June 14, 2001). "Staind Fends Off Radiohead, St. Lunatics At No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 8, 2008). "Ask Billboard: Williams' Wild 'West'". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Essence – Lucinda Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved August 10, 2005.
- ^ "Lucinda Williams: Essence". Blender (1): 107. June–July 2001.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Christgau, Robert. "Lucinda Williams: Essence". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ Browne, David (June 8, 2001). "Essence". Entertainment Weekly (599): 74. Archived from the original on April 16, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ "Lucinda Williams: Essence". Q (178): 125. July 2001.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Berger, Arion (May 24, 2001). "All the Small Things". Rolling Stone (869): 86. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ McGee, David; Miles, Milo (2004). "Lucinda Williams". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. pp. 875–876. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Weisbard, Eric (July 2001). "Lucinda Williams: Essence". Spin. 17 (7): 125. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ McLeese, Don (May 31, 2001). "Lucinda Williams' psychosexual murk". salon.com. Salon Media Group. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q (185): 60–65. December 2001.
External links[]
- Lucinda Williams albums
- 2001 albums
- Lost Highway Records albums