Lucinda Williams’ music has always drawn a great deal of inspiration from Tom Petty’s rock. It is not outlandish then that the queen of americana would dedicate an entire album to the musician who passed away in 2017 and would have been 70 the month this tribute was released. Celebrating their shared Southern heritage, Runnin’ Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty kicks off Lu’s Jukebox a series of studio concerts transmitted in livestream and whose revenues go to various clubs and concert halls closed during the pandemic. The setlists sees Lucinda slalom through Petty’s entire career, delving into albums as diverse as Southern Accents, Damn the Torpedoes, Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers, Echo and Highway Companion. Her interpretations are carried out in a head-on and unsullied manner. Ray Kennedy’s lively and no-nonsense production gives the record a certain vigour that was lacking in some of Tom Petty’s studio versions. Like Runnin’ Down a Dream and its sharp rhythms that shoot off like an electric race car at 200 miles an hour. With her famous carefree singing style and her inimitable gut-wrenching voice, Lucinda Williams seizes each and every one of these songs, taking them on a wonderfully eventful journey. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz