Rolling Stone (p.130) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n amazing record that sounds like it was casually banged out in a particularly creative weekend. It's steeped in Southern life..."
Rolling Stone (10/31/02, p.135) - Ranked # 10 in Rolling Stone's "Women in Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" - "...It rocks..."
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.65) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (7/9-23/98, pp.131-132) - 4.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...Not only is CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD more perfect than the two albums that preceded it...but it achieves its perfection by being more imperfect....not since the openhearted HAPPY WOMAN BLUES has she gotten so much feeling on tape..."
Spin (9/99, p.150) - Ranked #61 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
Spin (1/99, p.91) - Ranked #4 on Spin's list of "Top 20 Albums of '98."
Entertainment Weekly (7/10/98, p.74) - "...Williams has rarely sounded better. And when her voice meets a first-rate song (and some accordions and Dobros), few country-folkies more acutely evoke the elementary highs and lows of daily life..." - Rating: A-
Q (p.150) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Her voice has never sounded quite so strong, pure and tormented..."
Uncut (p.134) - "Repositioning country-blues roots rock as contemporary Southern art, the album gives us a sense of life and place that leap from every line and guitar lick."
Alternative Press (3/01, p.104) - Included in A.P.'s "10 Essential Alt-Country Albums" - "...Too diverse for country, too country to be rock - whatever this is, we need more of it."
CMJ (1/11/99, p.5) - "...Though the record is replete with stinging melodies, sturdy song structures and rustic, barroom vocal passion, its greatest asset is Williams' stirring lyrics..."
No Depression (p.78) - "'Drunken Angel' and 'Can't Let Go' stand out as examples of the rawness of CAR WHEELS intensified as Williams delivers its heartbreak and tumult onstage."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.63) - Ranked #31 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[A] bluesy, rootsy album, its fatalistic pull resonating with anyone who has loved and lost."
Personnel: Lucinda Williams (vocals, acoustic guitar, dobro); Buddy Miller (acoustic & electric guitars, mando guitar, background vocals); Steve Earle (acoustic & resonator guitars, harmonica, background vocals); Gurf Morlix (6 & 12 string electric guitars, electric & acoustic slide guitars, background vocals); Charlie Sexton (electric & slide guitars, dobro); Johnny Lee Schell (electric & slide guitars, dobro); Bo Ramsey (electric & slide guitars); Ray Kennedy, Greg Leisz (12 string electric guitar, mandolin); Richard "Hombre" Price (dobro); Roy Bittan (accordion, Hammond B-3 organ, organ); Michael Smotherman (Hammond B-3 organ); John Ciambotti (acoustic & electric basses); Donald Lindley (drums, percussion); Jim Lauderdale, Emmylou Harris (background vocals).
Principally recorded at Room And Board Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. "Can't Let Go" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
Personnel: Lucinda Williams (vocals, guitar); Emmylou Harris, Jim Lauderdale (vocals); Gurf Morlix, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Charlie Sexton (guitar); John Ciambotti (bass guitar); Donald Lindley (drums).
Recording information: Room & Board, Hermitage, Tennessee (1998).
Williams's fans waited a long six years for this album, as Lucinda went through music business hassles and a revolving door of producers. The reward for their patience is an album full of rootsy, heartfelt observations that alternately rock and mourn. CAR WHEELS is full of songs about loss and longing, like "Metal Firecracker," "Drunken Angel" and "I Lost It," but even when she's bemoaning her own lack of happiness on the bluesy "Joy," she lets loose with so much passion that it seems inevitable she'll find her emotional center again.
Produced largely by Steve Earle, CAR WHEELS is immersed in that late-'90s alt-country sound, full of slide guitar, accordion, dobro and other Americana touches. It's a tribute to Williams's unique artistic vision that she distinguishes herself from the No Depression crowd by virtue of her idiosyncratic songwriting. Full of lust, sadness and the occasional glimmer of hope, CAR WHEELS is one small step for Lucinda Williams and one giant leap for those tuned into her wavelength.
