World Without Tears
World Without Tears | ||||
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Studio album by Lucinda Williams | ||||
Released | April 8, 2003 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll, roots rock, Americana, alternative, folk rock | |||
Length | 59:53 | |||
Label | Lost Highway | |||
Producer | Mark Howard, Lucinda Williams | |||
Lucinda Williams chronology | ||||
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World Without Tears is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on April 8, 2003, by Lost Highway Records. The album debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200, selling 54,000 copies in its first week.[1] By 2008, it had sold 415,000 copies in the U.S.[2]
The album was a widespread critical and commercial success, and earned Williams two Grammy Award nominations in 2004: Best Contemporary Folk Album and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the track "Righteously".[3]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 87/100[4] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blender | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | A[7] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | A[12] |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Village Voice | A−[14] |
World Without Tears 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 87, based on 18 reviews.[4] Spin magazine's Robert Levine believed Williams had returned to "the painful sensuality of the specific" on World Without Tears,[12] while Will Hermes from Entertainment Weekly said the "profoundly carnal" record sounded "noisier and randier" than 2001's Essence.[7] Robert Hilburn deemed it "a rock 'n' roll workout" in his review for the Los Angeles Times, writing that its edgiest songs sounded "close to the raw, disoriented feel" of the Rolling Stones' 1972 album Exile on Main St.[8] entertainment.ie's review called it "dark, sleazy and impeccably rock'n'roll" while declaring Williams was "making some of the most essential roots-rock music around."[15]
According to music essayist Kathryn Jones, World Without Tears found Williams continuing her Americana, alternative, and folk-rock sounds on songs that reflected her life since moving from Nashville to Los Angeles.[16] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said while the songs were merely "pretty good" rather than "great," Williams compensated with "lowdown, dirty, smoky" music that relied on grooves and riffs. He compared it to a Sue Foley album but with better lyrics, particularly on "Those Three Days" and "Sweet Side."[14] Rolling Stone journalist Karen Schoemer was less impressed. She praised the music's "gorgeous amalgams of country, blues and Southern rock," but was disappointed in how relentlessly bleak the lyrics were, finding them lacking her past work's "wounded innocence" and "sweetness."[11]
Awards
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Word Without Tears | Best Contemporary Folk Album | Nominated | [3] |
"Righteously" | Best Female Rock Vocal Performance | Nominated |
Track listing
All tracks written by Lucinda Williams.[17]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Fruits of My Labor" | 4:41 |
2. | "Righteously" | 4:36 |
3. | "Ventura" | 4:37 |
4. | "Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings" | 4:40 |
5. | "Overtime" | 3:52 |
6. | "Those Three Days" | 4:53 |
7. | "Atonement" | 5:47 |
8. | "Sweet Side" | 3:34 |
9. | "Minneapolis" | 4:03 |
10. | "People Talkin'" | 5:05 |
11. | "American Dream" | 4:30 |
12. | "World Without Tears" | 4:11 |
13. | "Words Fell" | 4:11 |
Total length: | 59:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Buick Blues" (Version One)" | 2:45 | |
15. | "Hang Down Your Head" | 3:19 | |
Total length: | 65:57 |
Personnel
- Lucinda Williams – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
- Doug Pettibone – electric guitars, harmonies, mandolin ("People Talkin")
- Taras Prodaniuk – bass, harmonies
- Jim Christie – drums, wurlitzer ("American Dream"), vox organ ("Ventura", "Minneapolis")
Charts
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18][19] | 80 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] | 81 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] | 93 |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[22] | 41 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] | 40 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] | 24 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] | 24 |
UK Albums (OCC)[26] | 48 |
US Billboard 200[27] | 18 |
References
- ^ Todd Martens, "Godsmack Takes 'Faceless' Straight To No. 1", Billboard.com, April 16, 2003.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Ask Billboard – Williams' Wild 'West'". Billboard. February 8, 2008.
- ^ a b "Artist: Lucinda Williams". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "Reviews for World Without Tears by Lucinda Williams". Metacritic. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "World Without Tears – Lucinda Williams". AllMusic. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Powers, Ann (April 2003). "Lucinda Williams: World Without Tears". Blender (15): 126. Archived from the original on August 13, 2004. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Hermes, Will (April 11, 2003). "World Without Tears". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (April 6, 2003). "Williams is on an exploration for 'World Without Tears'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ "Lucinda Williams: World Without Tears". Mojo (115): 94. June 2003.
- ^ "Lucinda Williams: World Without Tears". Q (202): 144. May 2003.
- ^ a b Schoemer, Karen (March 25, 2003). "World Without Tears". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ a b Levine, Robert (May 2003). "Lucinda Williams: World Without Tears". Spin. 19 (5): 109. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ "Lucinda Williams: World Without Tears". Uncut (88): 72. May 2003.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (June 3, 2003). "Eating Again". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Anon. (April 23, 2003). "Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears". entertainment.ie. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
- ^ Jones, Kathryn (2016). "Lucinda Williams: Poets of Places in the Heart". In Clifford, Craig E.; Hills, Craig (eds.). Pickers and Poets: The Ruthlessly Poetic Singer-Songwriters of Texas. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1623494476.
- ^ World Without Tears (booklet). Lucinda Williams. Lost Highway Records. 2003.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Lucinda Williams chart history". Retrieved 2021-10-02 – via imgur.com.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 302.
- ^ "Dutch Charts > Lucinda Williams". Dutch Album Top 100. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Lucinda Williams". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
- ^ "Swedish Charts > Lucinda Williams". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ "Official Charts > Lucinda Williams". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ "Billboard 200 > Lucinda Williams". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
External links
- World Without Tears at Discogs (list of releases)
- Lucinda Williams official website
- v
- t
- e
- 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 @ The Fillmore
- "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"
- "Cold, Cold Heart"
- "Hang Down Your Head"
- "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"