Review: Lucinda Williams ‘Lucinda Williams Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road’

Review: Lucinda Williams ‘Lucinda Williams Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road’

By Hal Horowitz

Fans of Americana singer/songwriting icon Lucinda Williams are likely familiar with Lu’s Jukebox.

It’s the ongoing series of tribute albums from artists that have most influenced her. Previous editions have included Williams’ reflections on music from Bob Dylan, Southern Soul, the Stones, a Christmas collection and probably the best, most popular title, her interpretations of Tom Petty songs. The concept emerged out of the COVID lockdown and has continued intermittently, through to this, volume seven.

The Beatles’ eclectic pop/rock catalog might not initially seem a logical go-to for the 71 year old singer who generally travels on darker, more Americanized side roads. But Williams’ dusky, languorous, near swampy, occasionally slurred voice connects surprisingly well with these Lennon-McCartney compositions expressly chosen for her. Recording at Abbey Road—according to notes by her husband, amazingly the first artist to cover Beatles’ songs at that studio– helps inject whatever 60s mojo is still flying around those walls to the project.

The sessions were rushed due to the tight schedules of both Lucinda’s tour and Abbey Road’s availability. Ultimately there were just two days to finish the venture. Considering the high quality of the final product, it was a remarkably successful mission.

Those involved in choosing the material generally stick to The Beatles later years. Only “Can’t Buy Me Love,” the disc’s weakest moment, touches on the pop-oriented moptop period. Opening “Don’t Let Me Down” captures the mood and groove Williams and her tight five-piece (two guitars, bass, drums, Hammond organ) generally stick to for the remainder of the dozen tracks. The song, along with “I’m So Tired,” “Yer Blues” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” seizes the languid, melancholy and longing that slots perfectly with the singer’s often drawling vocal range and weary, unpolished emotional style.

She’s particularly comfortable with the strumming twang of “Rain” where longtime guitarists Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford mesh like Lennon and Harrison for a performance that, even without George Martin’s steady hand, enhances the tune’s resignation. Singer Siobhan Kennedy (wife of co-producer Ray Kennedy) handles the all-important backing vocals, so key to offerings like “With a Little Help from My Friends.” The latter remake is closer to Joe Cocker’s than the Sgt. Pepper one, yet works most effectively with Williams’ voice. When she quivers on the chorus of “I need somebody to lo-oo—ve,” she excavates her past relationships to deliver an exceedingly plaintive reading.

Generally, the arrangements don’t stray too far from what we’ve been used to hearing for the past 50+ years. Ballads “Something,” “Let It Be,” and the closing “The Long and Winding Road” are stripped to their essentials, letting Williams’ expressive vocals carry the melodies shorn of the strings and sweetening. The soulful slant imbued in the lesser known Let It Be album cut “I’ve Got a Feeling” is highlighted by B3 organ swirls leading into a torching guitar solo and some exuberant “Oh yeahs.”

Also along is McCartney’s “I’m Looking Through You,” not a major hit but one Lucinda slows down to emphasize the lyrics of a disintegrating relationship (“Your lips are moving, I cannot hear…Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight”) that arguably resonates more than ‘Rubber Soul’’s original.

Although nothing will make you forget or replace the iconic records that remain the gold standard, with ‘Sings the Beatles,’ Lucinda Williams weaves her unique magic. It’s an idiosyncratic yet heartfelt approach to music that has undoubtedly influenced her and she clearly feels connected to.

As we all do.

Watch “Something”