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The Ghosts of Highway 20
by
The Ghosts of Highway 20 Image
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

  • Summary: The 12th full-length studio release for the singer-songwriter was inspired by the highway that runs through Florida and Texas.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. The Independent (UK)
    Jan 22, 2016
    100
    [Lucinda Williams is] producing enough quality material to follow last year’s double-album Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone with another double-album of equivalent potency. The songs on The Ghosts of Highway 20 have the unerring ring of truth about them, shining glimmers of light into dark and unpalatable corners of life.
  2. PopMatters
    Feb 3, 2016
    90
    It’s defiantly, proudly, and gorgeously organic, in a different universe from today’s processed digital pop.
  3. Magnet
    Feb 12, 2016
    85
    Williams’ themes here aren’t new for her—love lost and found, mortality, the struggle to get right with God. But thanks to Frisell especially, the settings for Williams’ cracked, world-weary voice and vivid songwriting are indeed new. [No. 128, p.60]
    All this publication's reviews
  4. The Guardian
    Jan 22, 2016
    80
    There are stories of religion, guilt and loss, matched against a bittersweet, adult love song, Close the Door on Love, and a bleak treatment of Bruce Springsteen’s Factory that perfectly fits the mood of this intimate, pained and powerful set.
  5. Rolling Stone
    Feb 3, 2016
    80
    Yeah, it's literary; yeah, it's the polar opposite of cosmetic-surgery pop. As such, it's not for everyone. But its jazzy rawness represents a high point of emotional craft in a career defined by it.
  6. Pitchfork
    Feb 1, 2016
    80
    Listening to the 34 songs of Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone and The Ghosts of Highway 20 in sequence feels less like a chore than a long trip led by an expert navigator with good stories to share.
  7. Mojo
    Jan 22, 2016
    60
    If the alcoholic's lament Death Came teeters close to parody, then the bare-boned country pop of Place In My Heart and Bitter Memory offer some much needed respite. [Feb 2016, p.90]
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See all 19 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. dvidvidvi
    Oct 1, 2016
    10
    Fans of Lucinda Williams will regard this as one of her best records. It's also one of the darkest.
    It lacks the punch of some of her earlier    Fans of Lucinda Williams will regard this as one of her best records. It's also one of the darkest.
    It lacks the punch of some of her earlier work, most of the songs are very slow and introspective. But if you're a fan, you'll love it.    … Expand
  2. Regroove
    Feb 20, 2016
    10
    A dark, atmospheric, rumination. Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz are stark and moody. The whole album is perfectly, organically restrained untilA dark, atmospheric, rumination. Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz are stark and moody. The whole album is perfectly, organically restrained until it doesn't need to be, then it buries itself into your soul forever.… Expand
  4. jake_gibbs
    Apr 30, 2016
    6
    The backing band sounds as good as ever. I love Lucinda, but hate her recent trend of moaning her way through 15 songs instead of singingThe backing band sounds as good as ever. I love Lucinda, but hate her recent trend of moaning her way through 15 songs instead of singing them. Sounds like she's not even trying to capture the great vocals she's shown in the past. Some tracks that would've been great 3-to-4 minute tracks needlessly drag on forever. Would've been a much better single album.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

64
#64 Best Album of 2016

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