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Little Honey

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Little Honey
Studio album by
Lucinda Williams
ReleasedOctober 14, 2008 (2008-10-14)
GenreAmericana, folk rock, alternative country, heartland rock
Length64:44
LabelLost Highway
ProducerEric Leljestrand, Tom Overby[1]
Lucinda Williams chronology
West
(2007) 		Little Honey
(2008) 		Blessed
(2011)

Little Honey is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on October 14, 2008, by Lost Highway Records. The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, selling 35,000 copies that week,[2] thereby becoming her first Top 10 album.

A critical and commercial success, the album earned Williams a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2010, the first year to feature this category.[3]

Music and lyrics

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The album includes guest appearances by Elvis Costello, Susanna Hoffs, Matthew Sweet and Charlie Louvin.[1] "Circles and X's" was written in 1985, around the same time was "If Wishes Were Horses," while "Well Well Well" dates from 1991.[4] "Real Love" was released to radio and digital outlets as the first single.[4]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic 2008
Blender 2007
Entertainment WeeklyB− 2008
Rolling Stone 2008
Slant Magazine 2008
Spin 2008
The Boston Globeunfavorable 2008
The New York Times2008
The Times 2008
USA Today 2008

Little Honey was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on 23 reviews.[5] Spin called it "her finest record since Car Wheels on a Gravel Road," stating she "goes back to the roots-rock well and takes a long, satisfying swig".[6] Rolling Stone rated the 4 out of 5 stars, singling out the track "If Wishes Were Horses" as "sublime".[7] AllMusic called the album "the most polished and studied record she's ever made", stating "its sound is utterly contemporary, though its forms are rooted in electric '70s rock as well as her fallbacks on blues and old-school Americana", but concluded that there are "songs that pack some punch, but no jaw-dropping wallops".[8]

Awards

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Award nominations for Little Honey
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2009 Grammy Awards Best Americana Album Little Honey Nominated [3]

Track listing

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All songs by Lucinda Williams, except where indicated.[9]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Real Love" 3:45
2."Circles and X's" 3:40
3."Tears of Joy" 4:27
4."Little Rock Star" 5:42
5."Honey Bee" 3:05
6."Well Well Well" 4:29
7."If Wishes Were Horses" 5:40
8."Jailhouse Tears" 5:28
9."Knowing" 6:00
10."Heaven Blues" 5:23
11."Rarity" 8:43
12."Plan to Marry" 3:26
13."It's a Long Way to the Top"
4:56
Total length:64:44

Bonus tracks

  • "Jailhouse Tears" (Demo) – 4:49 (Best Buy download/UK CD bonus track)
  • "Rarity" (Demo) – 7:35 (Best Buy download)
  • "Knowing" (Demo) – 4:42 (Best Buy download)
  • "Circles & X's" (Demo) – 3:58 (Best Buy download)
  • "If Wishes Were Horses" (Demo) – 4:55 (Best Buy download)
  • "Real Love" (Alternate Early Version) – 3:39 (iTunes United States)

"Lu in '08" EP

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Released on October 28, 2008, as a Digital-Only EP featuring 4 live tracks (3 covers and one original):

  1. "Masters of War" (Originally performed by Bob Dylan)
  2. "For What It's Worth" (Originally performed by Buffalo Springfield)
  3. "Marching the Hate Machines Into the Sun" (Originally performed by Thievery Corporation feat. Wayne Coyne)
  4. "Bone of Contention" (Lucinda Williams original)A

Notes

  • A "Bone of Contention" has been incorrectly regarded as an "AmazonMP3" exclusive bonus track. The live version (from the "Lu in '08" ep) was given away free to those who pre-ordered "Little Honey" from Amazon.com.

Personnel

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  • Lucinda Williams – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Butch Norton – drums, percussion
  • David Sutton – electric bass, double bass, cello
  • Chet Lyster – electric and acoustic guitars, saw and table steel
  • Doug Pettibone – electric and acoustic guitars, pedal steel

Additional musicians

  • Rob Burger – wurlitzer, vibraphone, piano, Hammond organ
  • Matthew Sweet, Susanna Hoffs – backing vocals ("Real Love", "Little Rock Star", "Rarity")
  • Charlie Louvin, Jim Lauderdale – backing vocals ("Well Well Well")
  • Elvis Costello – vocals ("Jailhouse Tears")
  • Susan Marshall, Gia Ciambotti, Kristen Mooney – backing vocals ("Tears of Joy")
  • Kristen Mooney, Tim Easton, Susan Marshall – backing vocals ("It's a Long Way to the Top")
  • Jim Lauderdale, Susan Marshall, Gia Ciambotti, Kristen Mooney – backing vocals ("Jailhouse Tears")
  • Bruce Fowler – trombone
  • Walt Fowler – flugelhorn
  • Albert Wing – tenor saxophone

Charts

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Chart performance for Little Honey
Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10][11] 68
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 82
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 57
Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] 66
Italian Albums (FIMI)[15] 77
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 25
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[17] 33
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 25
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 51
US Billboard 200[20] 9
US Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 5

References

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  1. ^ a b "Little Honey Sellsheet"[permanent dead link]. Lost Highway Records.
  2. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Kenny Chesney Scores Fifth Chart-Topping Album". Billboard. October 22, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Artist: Lucinda Williams". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Ayers, Michael D. "Lucinda Williams lightens up on 'Honey'". Reuters. October 3, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Reviews for Little Honey by Lucinda Williams". Metacritic. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Wood, Mikael (October 9, 2008). "Lucinda Williams, Little Honey". Spin. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  7. ^ WILL HERMES (Oct 16, 2008). "Lucinda Williams- Little Honey" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-10-03
  8. ^ Little Honey - AllMusic review
  9. ^ Little Honey (booklet). Lucinda Williams. Lost Highway Records. 2008.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "Lucinda Williams chart history". Retrieved 2021-10-02 – via imgur.com.
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 302.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Lucinda Williams – Little Honey" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dutch Charts > Lucinda Williams". Dutch Album Top 100. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  14. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Lucinda Williams". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  15. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Lucinda Williams – Little Honey". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Lucinda Williams – Little Honey". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Lucinda Williams – Little Honey". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  18. ^ "Swedish Charts > Lucinda Williams". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  19. ^ "Official Charts > Lucinda Williams". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  20. ^ "Billboard 200 > Lucinda Williams". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  21. ^ "Billboard Top Rock Albums > Lucinda Williams". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
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