"Essence"
Single by Lucinda Williams
from the album Essence
Released2001
Genre
Length5:51
LabelLost Highway
Songwriter(s)Lucinda Williams
Producer(s)
Lucinda Williams singles chronology
"Can't Let Go"
(1998)		 "Essence"
(2001)		 "Get Right With God"
(2001)

"Essence" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. It was released in 2001 as the first single from her sixth album, Essence (2001).

The song earned Williams a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2002.[1]

Content

A review of the song from AllMusic stated: "Williams kicks up a little mud here with a chunky guitar riff tempered by a dash of dark menace, especially when paired with the opening attention grabber, 'Baby, sweet baby/You're my drug/Come on and let me taste your stuff.' A nasty sexual air permeates the track, enhanced by Williams' breathy vocal, imbued with a sinister swagger as the band obliges with a steadily pulsing low-down groove. The mood lightens considerably in the chorus as Williams' voice, bolstered by high harmony backing vocals from Gary Louris, rises up with the determination of a stalker, digging in her heels, resolved to wait her lover out."[2]

Reception

Spin called the song a "midtempo rocker that harks back to the stuff by the Divinyls or Concrete Blonde.[3] Salon called it "the boldest anthem she's ever recorded, not merely because of lyrical explicitness such as 'You're my drug, come on and let me taste your stuff', and 'Please come find me and help me get fucked up', 'Essence' is less a song about seducing an object of desire than a song about lust's voracious hunger, an arousal so strong it all but obliterates that object. It's a song that strips away every last layer of protective bark from an impulse that will not be denied."[4]

NPR described the song as a "pheromone daydream, the epitome of Williams's erotic expressionism."[5] Country music website Holler listed "Essence" as No. 11 of the best Lucinda Williams songs, writing "The toxic elixir of a no-good partner seeps through this dark and delirious grunge tune. Completely overtaken by this person, Lucinda ideates their presence with palpable yearning; their absence seems to result in a potentially lethal chemical imbalance. She likens the wanting to an overdue drug dosage from an addict: 'Whisper my name/Shoot your love into my vein'."[6] The song peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart.[7]

Track listing

CD single - US[8]
  • Album Version - 5:51
  • Clean Edit - 5:51
CD single - Europe[9]
  • Radio Edit - 4:36
  • Album Version - 5:51

Awards

Year Award Category Work Recipient Result Ref.
2002 Grammy Award Best Female Pop Vocal Performance "Essence" Lucinda Williams Nominated [1]

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
US Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay[7] 9

References

  1. 1 2 "Artist: Lucinda Williams". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  2. ↑ Maginnis, Tom. "Essence – Song Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  3. ↑ Weisbard, Eric (July 2001). "Lucinda Williams: Essence". Spin. 17 (7): 125. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  4. ↑ McLeese, Don (May 31, 2001). "Lucinda Williams' psychosexual murk". salon.com. Salon Media Group. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Powers, Ann (April 24, 2020). "Lucinda Williams: A Guide To Her Best Songs". NPR. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  6. ↑ Crone, Madeline. "The Best Lucinda Williams Songs". Holler. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Lucinda Williams - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Discogs. "Lucinda Williams – Essence - US single". Discogs. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Discogs. "Lucinda Williams – Essence - Europe single". Discogs. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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