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West
by
West Image
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 44 Ratings

  • Summary: The singer-songwriter co-produced her eighth album with veteran Hal Willner. The Jayhawks' Gary Louris is among the musicians lending a hand.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 28
  3. Negative: 3 out of 28
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    As bummers go, West is a beautiful one — akin to Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind.
  2. AllMusic
    90
    West is flawless; it is actually destined to become a classic.
  3. Hot Press
    80
    West works because it juxtaposes a sense of vulnerability with a desire not to stay down for long, and is tinged with a sense of realism not always present in her rivals.
  4. Hartford Courant
    70
    For all its sorrowful beauty, "West" is often excruciating to hear as Williams mourns the death of her mother and a stormy relationship that ended badly.
  5. Uncut
    60
    An album of sometimes stark simplicity, West is in many places rather drab and charmless. [Mar 2007, p.72]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. Trouser Press
    60
    The dolorous and enervated West reins in some (not all) of Williams' willful stylistic misadventures while holding fast to her golden triumvirate of death, love and longing.
  7. The New York Times
    30
    Ms. Williams’s strong suit is going simple and direct, but “West” loses its focus and goes wide and long. It develops a grandiosity problem. [12 Feb 2007]

See all 28 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 41
  3. Negative: 3 out of 41
  1. markb
    Feb 22, 2007
    10
    One review noted that it was hard to relate with the lyrics that Lucinda sang......and i'm sure that when she wrote the lyrics she wrote One review noted that it was hard to relate with the lyrics that Lucinda sang......and i'm sure that when she wrote the lyrics she wrote what she was going through...what she was feeling......As a songwriter myself...that's just what you do. Anyhow...i related to what a lot of the songs where saying...and the ones I didnt......she was good enough to take me somewhere.....The songs are lengthy.....But there's a point to that.....… Expand
  2. CarsonW
    Apr 19, 2007
    10
    West is deep, and dark, and honest. Her true feelings reach out just like on every other album. I think the negative critics wish they could West is deep, and dark, and honest. Her true feelings reach out just like on every other album. I think the negative critics wish they could come out with an album as real as this...unfortunately they cant, and instead criticize.… Collapse
  4. JaniceC.
    Dec 29, 2007
    10
    This CD is ahead of its time; it has legs and you know it.
  5. AlvinT
    Feb 13, 2007
    9
    I enjoyed it more than World Without Tears or Essence, but it's still not as strong as Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Worth listening to, I enjoyed it more than World Without Tears or Essence, but it's still not as strong as Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Worth listening to, and perhaps buying.… Expand
  6. juniorm
    Feb 26, 2007
    8
    Excellent record. LW is a woman with brains, guts and experience to go along with great voice and songwriting. The music is quite one-paced, Excellent record. LW is a woman with brains, guts and experience to go along with great voice and songwriting. The music is quite one-paced, but I think that gives it a distinctive character or "feel" that really works. This is definitely a world weary survivors record, but I think it is well worth hearing.… Expand
  7. MattD.
    Feb 22, 2007
    6
    That heartbreaking voice of hers just sounds disinterested on too much of this CD. Yes, she can still have a way with a lyric, but when she That heartbreaking voice of hers just sounds disinterested on too much of this CD. Yes, she can still have a way with a lyric, but when she tries to rev things up, it sounds desperate. I am a big Lucinda fan, but this is just generic modern folk, with a couple bluesy moments that are out of place. I'm really not sure what happened here.… Expand
  8. takealookateverything
    Aug 29, 2007
    0
    I wanted to find something nwew in this but come on! LW writes the same thing over and over again! I mean, ten years ago she was writing I wanted to find something nwew in this but come on! LW writes the same thing over and over again! I mean, ten years ago she was writing these words. "I'm pissed off and drunk and lonely. You left me. I'm going to get you back. You'll see. You're not a man. You're a line for a song." As a man, I find it sexist and hypocritical as all get out. I'm just so over reading about these poor men in Lucinda's ever changing tumultuous personal life who, once they finally get the sense she's just using them for drama value, leave her and then are gutted and fried so she can get revenge and another paycheck from her record company. I thought it was new. A decade ago. Grow up Miss Williams. At nearly sixty years old, it's about time.… Expand

See all 41 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Most Discussed Album of 2007

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