Music that You Have JUST BOUGHT, and can

Sounds like a good one (called "Essence", right?). I just saw her (and Kasey Chambers) last week, and her new tunes (as well as her old) sounded great. Terrific song writer. She must be doing pretty well; she's traveling with some really fine, versatile musicians. She's also beyond having to sell her CDs in the lobby; otherwise I coulda bought the new one then. Rocked the house with a 10-12 minute, rave-up version of "Joy." She came out looking like a blonde Chrissie Hyndes with a cowboy hat -- black leather pants and boots, black Deborah Harry t-shirt, sparkly necklace and a little glitter around here eyes. It was an "on" night. The crowd was alive, and Lucinda and the band clearly enjoyed their gig. Lucky us, we got three encores.

Get Right With God was way cool when she performed it in concert, Craig; sounds like a classic. Unfortunately, as is often the case with pop/rock concerts, some bad sound -- shredded highs -- made it a fight to understand the lyrics of songs I was hearing for the first time. I wonder if there are a few songwriting lapses on Essence? Envy the Wind sounded kind of one-dimensional and almost cliched, a characteristic that her work is almost entirely free of. The refrain, We're So Out of Touch, of one song sounded so simplistic and unrhythmic that I figured -- or hoped -- that in all the lyrics I couldn't make out there must be some delicious irony or criticism to set if off. As I said before, I think she is a top-notch songwriter, which is why I wonder... I don't have the CD yet, so in the meantime, comments from any fans?