Lucinda Williams hasn’t always walked the straightest road. Since 2020 she’s survived a tornado, the pandemic and a stroke that has to date kept her from playing the guitar. She’s also released two albums of her own work, and six discs devoted to the music of other artists, plus releasing her memoir Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You. All while trying to relearn just about everything including how to walk. Only her second album since the stroke, Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road reveals how she has continued to work despite circumstances that would have left plenty of people unable to function.
A Beatles fanatic since the age of 10, she even made a scrapbook filled with press clippings, photos, even a Bazooka Bubble Gum wrapper advertising for photos of the fab four. So when it came time to work on the seventh edition in her series of “Lu’s Jukebox” lps, Williams’ husband/manager, Tom Overby suggested recording at Abbey Road since they were going to be in London for a few gigs. She became the first person to record the Beatles’ work at the legendary studio.
The simple act of choosing 12 tracks from that legendary catalog can be a daunting task. While her choices lean toward the bluesier end of the catalog, she takes on a number of songs one might not expect. ‘Rain’ feels looser and all the better for it. ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ ends up being darker in tone, with Richard Causon’s Hammond B-3 shoring up the backing while Marc Ford and Doug Pettibone’s guitars are on fire.
The slash and burn of ‘Yer Blues’ haunts the song, while Williams’ vocals may lack the boneshaking raw attitude of the original, she gives the cover a raw shading of someone who has been through the hardest of times. She gives ‘I’m So Tired’ the unvarnished edge of a survivor, with Siobhan M. Kennedy tinging the vocals while Butch Norton performs admirably on the drum stool.
Removing some of the sweetness of ‘Something’ and replacing it with a bluesier feel takes the song into interesting territory, while ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ leans closer to the Joe Cocker version than the Beatles original. This is not completely unexpected since Williams’ rock ‘n’ roll has always been informed by a shot of the blues. Her unadorned opening to ‘The Long and Winding Road’ has a weariness to it that adds to the distance and wildness of the path.
Lucinda Williams is nothing if not a survivor. She continues to pursue her craft, making music that is both timeless and relevant to today. Lucinda Williams Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road is a masterclass from a musical survivor.
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