FIVE ESSENTIAL SONGS BY LUCINDA WILLIAMS

1. Changed the Locks (from Lucinda Williams, 1988).

Williams is utterly alone in many of her songs. But in this biting bluesy rocker from the album that made her a critics’ darling, she erases herself from the life of a poisonous ex-lover.

2. Right in Time (from Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, 1998).

Her increased productivity in the last 15 years has helped distance Williams from the shadow cast by her most beloved album, but right from its first song, Car Wheels travelled to a place of melancholic purity that few songwriters can access.

3. Come On (from West, 2007).

A scathing put-down, and a rare break from Williams’s profound empathy. “It’s kind of a play on ... the guys walking around with the tight pants on, their bulging tight pants, and they’re going, ‘Oh, I’m God’s gift to women,’ ” Williams said. “It’s me hitting back at the guy, going, ‘You think you’re such hot sh-t, but you really weren’t very good in bed.’ “

4. Soldier’s Song (from Blessed, 2011).

A mournful contrast of life on the battlefield and the home front, with a payoff that stops the listener cold. Williams recommends seeking out the desolate cover by Sean Rowe, whose ancient baritone shifts the song’s perspective. “He just does it by himself with his guitar, and oh my God, it’s got to be the best version of any song I’ve written that I’ve heard anybody do.”

5. Everything But the Truth (from Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, 2014).

A sizzling blend of blues and gospel that suggests the new tracks were made to be heard live. Typically of Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, every quiver and growl in Williams’s voice is given space to reverberate.