Album of the Week: 'Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart' by Lucinda Williams

With resilience and a little help from her friends, Lucinda Williams returns to new music after stroke.

Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart, Williams’ 15th studio album, is her first to feature songs co-written with others. After a stroke in 2020 that forced her to relearn how to walk, she was unable to play guitar when working on the new songs.

Working with her husband Tom Overby, and two other musicians Jesse Malin and Travis Stephens, Willams created an album that is one of her brightest. Besides songwriting, she is also helped on the album by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, plus Margo Price, Angel Olsen, and Tommy Stinson.

The party atmosphere of “Let’s Get the Band Back Together” kicks off the album. While Lucinda Williams sings “staying up all night, playing poker and pool, playing Dylan and The Boss, man we thought we were cool,” the band captures the vibe with some loose barroom blues.

“Stolen Moments”, a tribute to Tom Petty, sees Williams detailing moments where she thought of Petty after his passing. The two were friends and fans of each other’s music, with Petty covering “Changed the Locks” in 1996 and Williams releasing an album of Petty covers during the pandemic.

Springsteen, name-checked in the opening song, sings backing vocals on “Rock N Roll Heart” along with his wife Patti Scialfa. With a working-class story and anthemic chorus, it is easy to see why The Boss was asked to feature.

At age 70 and still recovering from a stroke, Lucinda Williams shows no signs of slowing down. Stories From a Rock N Roll Heart is KAXE/KBXE’s Album of the Week for July 14 – July 20, 2023.