67-year-old Nashville based singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams follows-up 2017’s This Sweet Old World with Good Souls Better Angels – her fourth album since she launched her own record label and took full control of the recording process and music distribution. Good Souls Better Angels is Williams’ most exciting release in years and was recorded mostly live with Ray Kennedy who engineered her 1998 masterpiece, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Recording with her longtime band, Williams is joined by Stuart Mathis (guitar), David Sutton (bass), Butch Norton (drums), and a cache of Kennedy’s vintage gear. This time around Williams reacquaints herself with good old rock ‘n’ roll with the addition of elements of blues and a punk-rock energy. Album highlights include: the brutal “Wakin’ Up”; the takedown of Donald Trump in “Man Without a Soul”; the ferocious “Down Past the Bottom”; the song about the state of the world “Bad News Blues”; the empowering track “You Can’t Rule Me”; and another takedown song “Big Rotator.” Good Souls Better Angels finds Williams not missing a beat over an album that plays like long stream-of-consciousness and is another gem her discography. – Written by JFelton
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