Artists don’t really make albums like Lee Ann Womack’s The Lonely, the Lonesome and the Gone anymore. Albums that possess both a profound sense of history and a clear-eyed vision for the future. Albums that transcend genres while embracing their roots. Albums that evoke a sense of place and of personality so vivid they make listeners feel more like participants in the songs than simply admirers of them.
The new album — a breathtaking hybrid of country, soul, gospel and blues –comes from Womack’s core. “I could never shake my center of who I was,” says the East Texas native. “I’m drawn to rootsy music. It’s what moves me.”