Essence - Lucinda Williams
Essence Image
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

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  • Summary: Although Lucinda Williams' recording career began in 1979, this is just her sixth full-length release, following 1998's well-received 'Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.' 'Essence' features 11 new trackes penned by Williams and co-produced by Charlie Sexton and Bo Ramsey.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Salon.com
    100
    It's a nervy progression, almost necessarily uneven because of the risks it takes, balancing a grace that soars toward aching perfection with an intimacy that elicits a squirmy discomfort.
  2. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    80
    By leaving her images blurry and her singing uncomplicated, Williams has found a way to capture the sound she hears in her head and obsesses over the recording process to find.
  3. Blender
    80
    Subduing the bright tinge of her country-flavored roots rock, Essence's acoustic musings mix Delta blues with Nick Drake-style nocturnal intimacy, while Williams's voice limits itself to a hushed drawl. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.102]
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  4. All Music Guide
    80
    Essence sounds full and rich even in its quietest moments, and her sweet-and-sour voice blends with the arrangements with subtle perfection.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Russ
    10
    Gotta admit that when I first heard this album I thought it was just ok. But over the years I've found myself returning to it for repeated listens. Best played when feeling mellow on those quiet introspective moments. Definitely not a party album! These songs just have so much feeling that you can't help but be captured by them. now one of my alltime favorites. To hear these songs with more of a hard-edge, get Live At the Fillmore.… Expand
  2. BrandonS
    8
    A rare predominantly slow album that never gets boring. Earthy yet ethereal. Who besides Lucinda, Emmylou, and Patty Griffin can pull this off?
  3. MikeT.
    6
    This album gets more disappointing every time I play it. I keep waiting for something to happen in these predictable, claustrophobic songs, but nothing ever does. "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" this ain't, believe me.… Expand
  4. BrianM
    4
    A gut wrenching torturous record that will make many wonder why music is in their lives at all. For the liife of me, I can't figure out why this music is in anyones life. One thing is clear, this music will encourage individuals to obstain from listening to music for long periods of time. Fundamentally, this is a waste of music from an otherwise gifted singer songwriter.… Expand

See all 10 User Reviews

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