Don’t ever count out Lucinda Williams. In 2020 she suffered a debilitating stroke that instead of sidelining her has made her more determined than ever. She’s recently published her memoir, is going back out on tour and has now released the resilient “Stories From a Rock and Roll Heart."

The stroke left her unable to play the guitar but she has found a way to write songs without it and the friends who collaborate with her on the album more than make up for any shortcomings that could have hobbled her. In fact she sounds stronger and more animated than on any of her other albums.

Margo Price and Angel Olsen provide great background vocals on a couple of moving songs about Nashville and her love of the Jukebox. Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Jesse Malin, Jeremy Ivey, Buddy Miller and keyboardist Reese Wynans join her on some of the most anthemic songs of her career including a tribute to the late Tom Petty.

Lucinda Williams has long been a master storyteller, creating nuance and empathy in her songs like no one else can and on “Stories From a Rock and Roll Heart” she has recovered from a very dark time  to create one of her greatest albums.

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