Little Honey is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on October 14, 2008, by Lost Highway Records. The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, selling 35,000 copies that week,Hasty, Katie. "Kenny Chesney Scores Fifth Chart-Topping Album". Billboard. October 22, 2008. thereby becoming her first Top 10 album.
A critical and commercial success, the album earned Williams a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2010, the first year to feature this category.
Music and lyrics The album includes guest appearances by Elvis Costello, Susanna Hoffs, Matthew Sweet and Charlie Louvin. "Circles and X's" was written in 1985, around the same time was "If Wishes Were Horses," while "Well Well Well" dates from 1991.Ayers, Michael D. "Lucinda Williams lightens up on 'Honey'". Reuters. October 3, 2008. "Real Love" was released to radio and digital outlets as the first single.
Critical reception
Little Honey was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on 23 reviews. Spin called it "her finest record since Car Wheels on a Gravel Road," stating she "goes back to the roots-rock well and takes a long, satisfying swig". Rolling Stone rated the 4 out of 5 stars, singling out the track "If Wishes Were Horses" as "sublime".WILL HERMES (Oct 16, 2008). "Lucinda Williams- Little Honey" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-10-03 AllMusic called the album "the most polished and studied record she's ever made", stating "its sound is utterly contemporary, though its forms are rooted in electric '70s rock as well as her fallbacks on blues and old-school Americana", but concluded that there are "songs that pack some punch, but no jaw-dropping wallops".Little Honey - AllMusic review
Awards +Award nominations for Little Honey Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2009 Grammy Awards Best Americana Album Little Honey
Track listing All songs by Lucinda Williams, except where indicated.
+ Track listing No. Title Writer(s) Length 1 Real Love 3:45 2 Circles and X's 3:40 3 Tears of Joy 4:27 4 Little Rock Star 5:42 5 Honey Bee 3:05 6 Well Well Well 4:29 7 If Wishes Were Horses 5:40 8 Jailhouse Tears 5:28 9 Knowing 6:00 10 Heaven Blues 5:23 11 Rarity 8:43 12 Plan to Marry 3:26 13 It's a Long Way to the Top 4:56Total length 64:44
Bonus tracks + Bonus tracksNo. Title AvailabilityLength1 "Jailhouse Tears" (Demo) Best Buy download/UK CD bonus track 4:492 "Rarity" (Demo) Best Buy download 7:353 "Knowing" (Demo) Best Buy download 4:424 "Circles & X's" (Demo) Best Buy download 3:585 "If Wishes Were Horses" (Demo) Best Buy download 4:556 "Real Love" (Alternate Early Version) iTunes United States 3:39
"Lu in '08" EP Released on October 28, 2008, as a Digital-Only EP featuring 4 live tracks (3 covers and one original):
"Masters of War" "For What It's Worth" "Marching the Hate Machines Into the Sun" "Bone of Contention"
Notes "Bone of Contention" has been incorrectly regarded as an "AmazonMP3" exclusive bonus track. The live version (from the "Lu in '08" ep) was given away free to those who pre-ordered "Little Honey" from Amazon.com.
Personnel Lucinda Williams – vocals, acoustic guitar Butch Norton – drums, percussion David Sutton – electric bass, double bass, cello Chet Lyster – electric and acoustic guitars, saw and table steel Doug Pettibone – electric and acoustic guitars, pedal steel
Additional musicians
Rob Burger – wurlitzer, vibraphone, piano, Hammond organ Matthew Sweet, Susanna Hoffs – backing vocals ("Real Love", "Little Rock Star", "Rarity") Charlie Louvin, Jim Lauderdale – backing vocals ("Well Well Well") Elvis Costello – vocals ("Jailhouse Tears") Susan Marshall, Gia Ciambotti, Kristen Mooney – backing vocals ("Tears of Joy") Kristen Mooney, Tim Easton, Susan Marshall – backing vocals ("It's a Long Way to the Top") Jim Lauderdale, Susan Marshall, Gia Ciambotti, Kristen Mooney – backing vocals ("Jailhouse Tears") Bruce Fowler – trombone Walt Fowler – flugelhorn Albert Wing – tenor saxophone
Charts + Chart performance for Little Honey Chart (2008) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 68 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 57 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 25 UK Albums (OCC) 51 US Billboard 200 9 US Rock Albums (Billboard) 5
References
External links
Lucinda Williams Official Website