The Ghosts of Highway 20
The Ghosts of Highway 20 is the twelfth studio album by American country music singer Lucinda Williams. The album was released on February 5, 2016, by Highway 20 Records.[1] All songs are written or co-written by Williams, except "Factory", written by Bruce Springsteen.
The Ghosts of Highway 20 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 5, 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2015 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 86:09 | |||
Label | Highway 20 Records | |||
Producer | Greg Leisz, Tom Overby, Lucinda Williams | |||
Lucinda Williams chronology | ||||
|
"Bitter Memory" was performed by Connie Britton (as her character Rayna Jaymes) and Brad Paisley on the TV series Nashville. Britton's solo version appears on The Music of Nashville: Season 1, Volume 2.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 83/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Consequence of Sound | B[4] |
Drowned In Sound | 7/10[5] |
The Guardian | [6] |
Paste | 9.3/10[7] |
PopMatters | [8] |
Pitchfork Media | 8.0/10[9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Slant Magazine | [11] |
Spin | 8/10[12] |
The Ghosts of Highway 20 received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83 based on 19 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[2]
Will Hermes writing in Rolling Stone commends the album's "languorous tempos". Hermes notes the recent passing of the singer's father, poet Miller Williams, as casting "mortality's shadow" across several songs on the album.[10]
Track listing
Disc 1
All tracks are written by Lucinda Williams, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Dust" | words by Miller Williams, music and additional words by Lucinda Williams | 6:19 |
2. | "House of Earth" | lyrics by Woody Guthrie | 5:28 |
3. | "I Know All About It" | 5:46 | |
4. | "Place in My Heart" | 5:13 | |
5. | "Death Came" | 6:14 | |
6. | "Doors of Heaven" | 5:33 | |
7. | "Louisiana Story" | 9:05 | |
Total length: | 43:41 |
Disc 2
All tracks are written by Lucinda Williams, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Ghosts of Highway 20" | 7:20 | |
2. | "Bitter Memory" | 4:07 | |
3. | "Factory" | Bruce Springsteen | 4:01 |
4. | "Can't Close the Door on Love" | 5:36 | |
5. | "If My Love Could Kill" | 5:09 | |
6. | "If There's a Heaven" | 3:34 | |
7. | "Faith & Grace" | traditional | 12:44 |
Total length: | 42:32 |
Personnel
- Carlton "Santa" Davis - drums
- Bill Frisell - electric guitar
- Greg Leisz - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Val McCallum - electric guitar
- Butch Norton - drums, percussion, background vocals
- Ras Michael - hand drums, background vocals
- David Sutton - bass guitar, background vocals
- Lucinda Williams - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals
Charts
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 20 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 40 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] | 25 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] | 104 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17] | 53 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] | 21 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] | 29 |
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] | 88 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] | 17 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[22] | 83 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] | 28 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] | 43 |
UK Albums (OCC)[25] | 33 |
UK Country Albums (OCC)[26] | 1 |
US Billboard 200[27] | 36 |
References
- "The Ghosts of Highway 20 by Lucinda Williams on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 1953-01-26. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- "Reviews for The Ghosts of Highway 20 by Lucinda Williams". Metacritic. 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- Mark Deming. "The Ghosts of Highway 20 - Lucinda Williams | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- Kivel, Adam (2016-02-03). "Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- Irwin, Kevin (2016-01-27). "Single Review: Lucinda Williams - The Ghosts of Highway 20". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- Robin Denselow. "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20 review – pained and powerful Americana". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- George de Stefano. "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". PopMatters. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Pitchfork. 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- Hermes, Will (2016-02-03). "Lucinda Williams's New Album: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Slant Magazine. 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- "Review: Lucinda Williams, 'The Ghosts of Highway 20'". SPIN. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
- "Australiancharts.com – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- "Austriancharts.at – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- "Ultratop.be – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- "Ultratop.be – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}" (in French). Hung Medien.
- "LucindaWilliams Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
- "Italiancharts.com – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien.
- "Charts.nz – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien.
- "Spanishcharts.com – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien.
- "Swedishcharts.com – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien.
- "Swisscharts.com – LucindaWilliams – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien.
- "LucindaWilliams | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
- "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company.
- "LucindaWilliams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.