Little Honey

2008 studio album by Lucinda Williams

Little Honey

Studio album by

Lucinda Williams

Released| October 14, 2008 (2008-10-14)
Genre| Americana, folk rock, alternative country, heartland rock
Length| 64:44
Label| Lost Highway
Producer| Eric 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 72/100[5]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic|  2008
Blender|  2007
Entertainment Weekly| B− 2008
Rolling Stone|  2008
Slant Magazine|  2008
Spin|  2008
The Boston Globe| unfavorable 2008
The New York Times| 2008
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

[edit]

Award nominations for Little Honey Year  | Award  | Category  | Nominated work  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2009  | Grammy Awards | Best Americana Album | Little Honey | Nominated  | [3]

## Track listing

[edit]

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

No.| Title| Writer(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"|

* Angus Young
* Malcolm Young
* Bon Scott

| 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 October 2, 2021 - 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 October 2, 2021.
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 October 2, 2021.
19. ^ "Official Charts > Lucinda Williams". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
20. ^ "Billboard 200 > Lucinda Williams". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
21. ^ "Billboard Top Rock Albums > Lucinda Williams". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Little Honey at Discogs (list of releases)
* Lucinda Williams Official Website

* v
* t
* e

Lucinda Williams

Studio albums|

* Ramblin' on My Mind
* Happy Woman Blues
* Lucinda Williams
* Sweet Old World
* Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
* Essence
* World Without Tears
* West
* Little Honey
* Blessed
* Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
* The Ghosts of Highway 20
* This Sweet Old World
* Good Souls Better Angels
* Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart

Live albums|

* Live @ The Fillmore

Other albums|

* Vanished Gardens

Singles|

* "Changed the Locks"
* "The Night's Too Long"
* "I Just Wanted to See You So Bad"
* "Passionate Kisses"
* "Six Blocks Away"
* "Something About What Happens When We Talk"
* "Right in Time"
* "Can't Let Go"
* "Essence"
* "Get Right With God"
* "Righteously"
* "Are You Alright?"
* "Real Love"
* "Buttercup"

Other songs|

* "Cold, Cold Heart"
* "Hang Down Your Head"
* "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"

Related articles|

* Discography

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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