Lucinda Williams to Perform in Austin to Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Rough Trade Album

Lucinda Williams will take a break from mixing a new album for Thirty Tigers by celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the re-release of the Rough Trade album in the town where I first saw her some 28 years ago, Austin, on Tuesday, January 14, 2014 — the same day as its re-release — with an in-store performance at one of the finest record stores in the country, Waterloo Records, 5 p.m. with  free beer provided by Shiner. 

The album was originally released in October 1988 and its many versions (LP, cassette, CD and CD with bonus tracks taken from the 1989 EP) have been out of print for more than a decade. The remastered reissue on CD will  include a second disc of an unreleased recording from a 1989 concert in Eindhoven, Netherlands, some other live tracks, previously unpublished photos and new liner notes. The LP re-issue  version will only be the original LP and a download card for MP3 versions of the live tracks. So, if you want the best versions of the live tracks you’ll have to go for the CD.

While both versions were re-mastered from the original analog tapes, it is unknown whether the re-mix was analog or digital. I add this because many folks swear that the sweetness of an analog recording can be negated by digital mixing — even on CD versions. It will be interesting to compare the new with the originals.

The re-release that was first announced in July has been available for pre-order for quite some time from all the usual outlets, plus the online Pledge Music that also offers autographed versions, the LP on red vinyl, t-shirts and other goodies.

She will also perform as part of Alejandro Escovedo’s United Sounds of Austin show at ACL Live on January 11. The show is billed as a guided tour of Austin music history curated and narrated by Escovedo. Butch Hancock (who was also in the audience on that late March night in 1986), Joe Ely, Terry Allen, Rosie Flores and Roky Erickson will also perform on the bill.