Lucinda Williams brings us this morning’s CarTune with a live performance of her 1998 hit,  “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.”    

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was Lucinda Williams’ fifth album and her first to go gold, earning her a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 304 on its list of the 500 Best Albums of All Time.

And just in case you were in need of any additional validation for liking this album so much, critic Robert Christgau wrote, “This is where she establishes herself as the most accomplished record-maker of the age. A+.”

This live performance of the album’s title song was recorded at the 2009 Cambridge Folk Festival, where the addition of a mandolin on top adds another dimension to the wistful restlessness of the lyrics:

Can’t find a damn thing in this place
Nothing’s where I left it before
Set of keys and a dusty suitcase
Car wheels on a gravel road

Few songwriters can paint pictures like Lucinda WIlliams. Video below.

http://youtu.be/ainIBDO6a8E