The Ghosts of Highway 20

The Ghosts of Highway 20 is the 12th studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. The double album was released on February 5, 2016, by Highway 20 Records.^[1] It was nominated for the Americana Music Award for Album of the Year.^[2]

The Ghosts of Highway 20
Studio album by Lucinda Williams
Released	February 5, 2016
Recorded	2015
Genre	Country
Length	86:09
Label	Highway 20 Records
Producer	Greg Leisz, Tom Overby, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams chronology
Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone (2014) The Ghosts of Highway 20 (2016) This Sweet Old World (2017)

"Bitter Memory" was performed by Connie Britton (as her character Rayna Jaymes) and Brad Paisley on the TV series Nashville. Britton's solo version appears on The Music of Nashville: Season 1, Volume 2.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.0/10[3]
Metacritic	83/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Consequence of Sound	B[6]
Drowned In Sound	7/10[7]
The Guardian	[8]
Paste	9.3/10[9]
PopMatters	[10]
Pitchfork Media	8.0/10[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Slant Magazine	[13]
Spin	8/10[14]

The album received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83 based on 19 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".^[4] AllMusic wrote "after releasing one of the best and boldest albums of her career with Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, Williams goes from strength to strength with The Ghosts of Highway 20, and it seems like a welcome surprise that she's moving into one of the most fruitful periods of her recording career as she approaches her fourth decade as a musician.^[5] Will Hermes writing in Rolling Stone commends the album's "languorous tempos". Hermes notes the recent passing of the singer's father, poet Miller Williams, as casting "mortality's shadow" across several songs on the album.^[12]

Chart performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 36 on its release.^[15] It also debuted at No. 1 on the Folk Albums and Independent Albums charts, and No. 3 on the Top Rock Albums chart.^[15]

Track listing

All songs written by Lucinda Williams, except where noted.^[16]

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dust"	Miller Williams, music and additional words by Lucinda Williams	6:19
2.	"House of Earth"	Woody Guthrie	5:28
3.	"I Know All About It"		5:46
4.	"Place in My Heart"		5:13
5.	"Death Came"		6:14
6.	"Doors of Heaven"		5:33
7.	"Louisiana Story"		9:05
Total length:			43:41

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Ghosts of Highway 20"		7:20
2.	"Bitter Memory"		4:07
3.	"Factory"	Bruce Springsteen	4:01
4.	"Can't Close the Door on Love"		5:36
5.	"If My Love Could Kill"		5:09
6.	"If There's a Heaven"		3:34
7.	"Faith & Grace"	Traditional	12:44
Total length:			42:32

Personnel

• Carlton "Santa" Davis - drums
• Bill Frisell - electric guitar
• Greg Leisz - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Val McCallum - electric guitar
• Butch Norton - drums, percussion, background vocals
• Ras Michael - hand drums, background vocals
• David Sutton - bass guitar, background vocals
• Lucinda Williams - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, background vocals

Charts

Chart performance for The Ghosts of Highway 20

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17]	20
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18]	40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19]	25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20]	104
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21]	53
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22]	21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23]	29
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24]	49
Italian Albums (FIMI)[25]	88
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26]	17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27]	21
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28]	83
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29]	28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30]	43
UK Albums (OCC)[31]	33
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[32]	2
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[33]	5
US Billboard 200[34]	36
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[35]	1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[36]	1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37]	3

References

1. "The Ghosts of Highway 20 by Lucinda Williams on iTunes". Apple Inc. 5 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
2. Americana Awards - 2016 americanamusic.org. Americana Music Association. Retrieved 27 Apr 2020.
3. "The Ghosts of Highway 20 by Lucinda Williams reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
4. "Reviews for The Ghosts of Highway 20 by Lucinda Williams". Metacritic. 2016-01-22. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
5. Mark Deming. "The Ghosts of Highway 20 - Lucinda Williams | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
6. Kivel, Adam (2016-02-03). "Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
7. Irwin, Kevin (2016-01-27). "Single Review: Lucinda Williams - The Ghosts of Highway 20". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
8. Robin Denselow (21 January 2016). "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20 review – pained and powerful Americana". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
9. "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Pastemagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
10. George de Stefano. "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
11. "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Pitchfork. 2016-02-01. Archived from the original on 2016-02-10. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
12. Hermes, Will (2016-02-03). "Lucinda Williams's New Album: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
13. "Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20". Slant Magazine. 2016-01-26. Archived from the original on 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
14. "Review: Lucinda Williams, 'The Ghosts of Highway 20'". SPIN. Archived from the original on 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
15. "US Albums and Singles Charts > Lucinda Williams". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
16. The Ghosts of Highway 20 (booklet). Lucinda Williams. Highway 20 Records. 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. "Australiancharts.com – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
18. "Austriancharts.at – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
19. "Ultratop.be – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
20. "Ultratop.be – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
21. "Lucinda Williams Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lucinda Williams – {{{album}}}" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
24. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Lucinda Williams". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
25. "Italiancharts.com – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
26. "Charts.nz – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
28. "Spanishcharts.com – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
29. "Swedishcharts.com – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
30. "Swisscharts.com – Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts of Highway 20". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
31. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
32. "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
33. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
34. "Lucinda Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
35. "Lucinda Williams Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
36. "Lucinda Williams Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
37. "Lucinda Williams Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2016.

External links

• The Ghosts of Highway 20 at Discogs (list of releases)
• Lucinda Williams Official Website