Essence - Lucinda Williams
User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15

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  1. CherylH
    Apr 5, 2004
    10
    Williams' grief, almost beyond bearing, simmers and aches beneath every tune she sings, sighs, whispers in that Delta drawl. It reaches an absolute boil in the title cut 'Essence', the spiritual yearning in 'Get Right with God', and the heartbreaking, poignant closer, 'Broken Butterflies'. This was the fourth Williams CD I bought, it is still the first one I listen to every night. This is some of the best songwriting you will ever hear.… Expand
  2. AlbertoN
    Jan 6, 2008
    9
    strong and heartreaking: this record literally moved me to tears. Stillo does.
  3. Russ
    Aug 14, 2007
    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
  4. RusR>
    Jul 6, 2001
    10
    Williams ended her last album with a draw-dropping stunner: Jackson. Both Ali and Sugar Ray knew the value of the end of the round with the judges. Essence sort of peters out. But along the way she's given us songs that are better than anything we're likely to hear anywhere for some time. She's our best performing popular artist. (And if you get the chance to see her live...)
  5. KeithB.
    Nov 11, 2001
    10
    It doesn't get any better than this. The most raw, unaffected, sensual and heartbreaking music I've heard in a very long time. It's been haunting me day and night since I first listened to it.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Her folkiest, gentlest album, Essence is a steamy slow-crawl... [8 June 2001, p.74]
  2. 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]
  3. 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.
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