This Sweet Old World | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 29, 2017 | |||
Recorded | 2017 | |||
Studio | Dave's Room, North Hollywood, California, United States | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 70:59 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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Lucinda Williams chronology | ||||
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This Sweet Old World is the 13th studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on September 29, 2017, by Highway 20 Records and Thirty Tigers. A re-recording of her 1992 album Sweet Old World , [1] Williams was motivated to revisit the older material by her husband and manager Tom Overby, who co-produced the album with her. [2] The album has received critical acclaim. [3]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 86/100 [3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Independent | 5/5 [4] |
PopMatters | [5] |
This Sweet Old World received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic . It has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on five reviews. [3] Mark Deming of AllMusic Guide gave the album a positive assessment, with the editorial staff ranking it 3.5 out of five stars. Deming calls this release "a genuine improvement" over the famously fraught 1992 album, with his only complaint being the wearing on Williams' voice due to age. [1] Writing for Exclaim! , Mark Dunn gave the album seven out of 10, agreeing that Williams' voice has changed dramatically in the ensuing 25 years but noting that she uses it as an instrument masterfully, pairing it with stripped-down country arrangements, compared to the more pop feel of the 1992 release. [6] George de Stefano of PopMatters gave the release nine out of 10, calling it a "surprising and bold move" and writes that both the re-recordings and the new tracks are "gems". [5] In The San Francisco Chronicle , Joshua Zucker calls the album a document of Williams' musical evolution, with a mix of live energy, emotional lyrics, and rocking sound. [7] In The Independent , Andy Gill recommended several tracks for download and gave the album five out of five stars, summing up: Her voice, meanwhile, has grown into these songs splendidly: it’s amazing how much brazen sensuality she can bring to an image like “Saw you in the laundromat, washing your clothes/Getting all the dirt out”. [4]
On October 21, 2017, This Sweet Old World reached No. 21 on Billboard's Internet Albums chart, [8] No. 57 on the Top Current Albums, [9] No. 6 on Americana/Folk Albums Sales, [10] No. 17 on Rock Album Sales, [11] No. 14 on Independent Albums, [12] and No. 22 on Tastemakers. [13] For the comprehensive Total Album Sales, it topped out at No. 65. [14] The album peaked for one week at No. 101 in the Netherlands. [15]
All songs written by Lucinda Williams, except where noted.
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
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Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] | 101 |
US Folk Albums ( Billboard ) [10] | 6 |
US Independent Albums ( Billboard ) [12] | 14 |
US Rock Albums ( Billboard ) [11] | 17 |
US Tastemakers ( Billboard ) [13] | 22 |
Lucinda Gayl Williams is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, Ramblin' on My Mind (1979) and Happy Woman Blues (1980), in a traditional country and blues style that received critical praise but little public or radio attention. In 1988, she released her third album, Lucinda Williams, to widespread critical acclaim. Regarded as "an Americana classic", the album also features "Passionate Kisses", a song later recorded by Mary Chapin Carpenter for her 1992 album Come On Come On, which garnered Williams her first Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994. Known for working slowly, Williams released her fourth album, Sweet Old World, four years later in 1992. Sweet Old World was met with further critical acclaim, and was voted the 11th best album of 1992 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent music critics. Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it 6th on his own year-end list, later writing that the album, as well as Lucinda Williams, were "gorgeous, flawless, brilliant".
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on June 30, 1998, by Mercury Records. The album was recorded and co-produced by Williams in Nashville, Tennessee and Canoga Park, California, and features guest appearances by Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris.
Todd Daniel Snider is an American singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of folk, rock, blues, alt country, and funk.
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World Without Tears is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on April 8, 2003, by Lost Highway Records. The album debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200, selling 54,000 copies in its first week. By 2008, it had sold 415,000 copies in the U.S.
Live at the Fillmore is a live album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, her eighth album overall, released on May 10, 2005, by Lost Highway Records.
Sweet Old World is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on August 25, 1992, by Chameleon Records.
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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, thereby becoming her first Top 10 album.
"Passionate Kisses" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 1989 as the fourth single from her third album, Lucinda Williams (1988).
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Good Souls Better Angels is the 14th studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on April 24, 2020, by Highway 20 Records and Thirty Tigers.
The discography of Lucinda Williams, an American singer, songwriter, and musician, consists of 15 studio albums, one live album, two video albums, and 25 singles, on Folkways Records, Smithsonian Folkways, Rough Trade Records, Chameleon, Mercury Records, Lost Highway Records, New West Records, Highway 20 Records, and Thirty Tigers.
"Righteously" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 2003 as the first single from her seventh album, World Without Tears (2003).
"Real Love" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 2008 as the first single from her ninth album, Little Honey (2008).
"Six Blocks Away" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 1992 as the first single from her fourth album, Sweet Old World (1992).
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