random friday, 1988 edition: lucinda williams, "passionate kisses"

If I wanted to override Mr. Random, I’d choose “Changed the Locks,” myself, but since I’m going to talk about the whole album anyway, it doesn’t matter.

Longtime readers know of my theory about the Career Trajectories of Rock Stars. In short, they are more like athletes than they are like artists, with the vast majority of them in decline by their late-30s. The true greats are always capable of pulling a masterpiece out of their hat, but even they don’t maintain the consistency of their younger days. You can check it out for yourself … I’ve done it too many times to go for it again, so you can take my word for it, or you can try to prove me wrong (beyond the “exception that proves the rule” thing). My favorite musical artist is Bruce Springsteen. Bruce still puts on a terrific live show (that doesn’t seem to fade away for these rockers), and he’s put out some good music over the last several decades. But his peak was from 1975-1984 … you can start earlier if you think E Street Shuffle was a great album, you can end later if you want to include Tunnel of Love … but even with the latter included, he’s sliding downhill before he reaches 40. The Rolling Stones had an unparalleled run through Exile on Main St. … when they released Goat’s Head Soup, Mick and Keith were 30, and despite the occasional fine album, no one would argue that their post-Exile career was up to their early standards. The list goes on … make your own, it’s a fun way to waste a few hours.

I mention this because Lucinda Williams might the all-time ultimate Exception That Proves the Rule. Lucinda released two albums when she was 26-27 … they went largely unnoticed. She didn’t record a third album until 1988, when she was 35 years old. That self-titled album was a gem … Christgau gave it an “A” while Rolling Stone managed 3 1/2 stars out of 5. The charts didn’t pay attention, but some of us heard her, nonetheless, including Tom Petty (who later recorded a cover of “Changed the Locks”) and Mary Chapin Carpenter, who would finally get Williams into the mainstream spotlight via her cover of “Passionate Kisses.” Williams won a Grammy for Best Country Song for Carpenter’s version … in 1994, six years after she had recorded it herself, by which time she was in her 40s.

I have no idea why any of the above paragraph is true. Williams was, for a long time, a notorious perfectionist (there was an 8-year break between her second and third albums, and a 6-year break between fourth and fifth). One result of this was that as the 21st century rolled around, Williams, now into her late-40s, had only recorded 5 albums. (She has pretty much gotten past this, with five albums in the last nine years.) Whatever the reason, if you want to identify the peak of Lucinda’s career … well, it’s hard to find her peak, for one thing, but you could make a case for the time between Lucinda Williams and World Without Tears (although she’s had her biggest commercial success since then), which means she was still in her prime when she was 50 years old.

Again, I’m not saying there are no other 50-year-old rockers making good albums. But find me another artist who recorded five highly-regarded albums in a row, culminating with one at age 50. I’m sure they are out there, but they are few and far between … I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Lucinda Williams’ career has been as remarkable as any in popular music.

Here’s the original video for “Passionate Kisses”:

Here is Mary Chapin Carpenter’s hit version … I’ve never understood why she enunciated so clearly in a song about passion. Lucinda: shouldn’tahavethis. Mary Chapin: shouldn’t – I – have - this.

Here’s “Changed the Locks” from last year:

Here’s something else she did last year:

The wedding came between the main set and the encores. Here’s the first of those encores: