Lucinda Williams has always been an activist. Her motivation has never been stronger due to the current resident in the White House. World’s Gone Wrong looks to light a flame that won’t be extinguished over the next three years. The trials have gotten harder as the days have gotten darker. This set of songs lays out the problems, offering the only solution that makes any sense as America slips into the morass Trump has created.
There’s fire in her belly and anger in her veins. ‘The World’s Gone Wrong’ sets the stage. The guitars fire with controlled vengeance as she sings, telling of a couple caught in the grip of a world where the truth is under attack. The chorus makes it clear, “Come on baby we gotta be strong/ Dark days are getting long/ Looking for comfort in a song/ Everbody knows the world’s gone wrong.” With Brittney Spencer adding harmonies, a world on edge comes into view and the picture isn’t pretty.
The flames continue burning, fired up a notch on ‘Something’s Gotta Give’. The pain is real and the guitar solo blazes brighter as Williams and Spencer feed the flames, while blasts of organ add fuel to the inferno. Looking for relief, ‘Low Life’ sees Williams heading for the comfort of a juke joint where she puts money in the juke box and gets a few moments of relief listening to Slim Harpo. The telltale harmonica of Micky Raphael provides a salve for her weary bones.
She could be singing to directly to the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue when the question is raised, ‘How Much Did You Get For Your Soul?’ The way she spits out the lyrics it’s only to obvious whatever the price, it wasn’t enough. The countrified reggae of Bob Marley’s ‘So Much Trouble In This World’ finds Williams being aided by Mavis Staples, someone she’s wanted to sing with for years.
Dreams deferred lead to the swamp-blues of ‘Black Tears’. Awash in delta grit, this gut bucket mix of organ and guitar goes right down to your bones as she sings: “The dream is deferred and the churches are burning”. Clearly the world has been turned upside down, which becomes even clearer on ‘Freedom Speaks’. From the opening lines, “It’s hard to believe what’s going down but I ain’t surprised/ History will come back around to the fall and the lies.” The answer lies in refusing to be taken for granted and beginning to fight back. When Williams sings, “My name is freedom” the call for change is as clear as can be.
The final notes come in a duet with Norah Jones. ‘We’ve Come Too Far To Turn Around’ serves as a fitting end piece, a reminder of the need to keep up the struggle. Turning back isn’t an option. The only choice is maintaining the fortitude and spiritual conviction needed to keep going forward. It’s always darkest just before the dawn, thankfully we can listen to Lucinda Williams singing on World’s Gone Wrong and find the resilience to keep pushing until we reach the end.