Mark Olson / Victoria Williams / Creek Dippers / etc - Classic or Dud?

Vic is one of those "acquired taste" artists that inspires a cult following.

I like Swing_the_Statue, and the Lou Reed and Jayhwaks covers on _Sweet Relief_ are terrific.

Of course, sometimes she annoys me.

Good gawd, Victoria Williams doesn't have her own thread on ILM?!

Listening to Loose for the first time in...multiple years. Such a great, fun, beautiful album. It could probably have used a bit of editing, but not sure what I'd get rid of. "Harry Went to Heaven"? "Polish Those Shoes"? "Happy to Have Known Pappy"? Those are the most Victoria Williams songs on it! I saw this tour and still wear the purple donkey t-shirt regularly! Always puts a smile on my face.

Funny, I remember hearing "Crazy Mary" for the first time on WXRT late one night and being really excited that Mary Margaret O'Hara had a new album out.

Thought this would be a thread about Olson, who I saw a few months back - he was GREAT. Anyone heard the new album?

Loose. What a great album. Great, fun & beautiful, as mentioned up thread but also so open-hearted and generous. Wish I had seen her live because the handful of vids on youtube are wonderful. Victoria Williams 4EvaR!

Yeah, especially like Happy Come Home and Loose, both with the assistance of Van Dyke Parks, who provided what a reviewer called "neon strings" (over songs otherwise evoking Williams' Cali desert home) for the latter.
Musings of A Creek Dipper was real good too, then she and Olson & co. made several albums as the Original Harmony Creek Dippers, I think---mostly mail order at the time; I didn't hear 'em. Did hear one where she and the others backed Olson, but mostly remember "Letter From Africa," and don't remember him much with the Jayhawks either (He came back to them after breaking with Williams, but left again)(now co-founder Louris and some others have a new Jayhawks album streaming on npr's First Listen).
Her site says she's got a live album coming, although it's from 1995...hope she's doing ok, considering (the Sweet Relief recording project/fund for musicians started with a Williams tribute album, re multiple sclerosis).

Not doing all that well. She had a seizure last year - injured back, fractured shoulder. Very sad & unfortunate. http://sweetrelief.org/program/victoria-williams-fund/

Loose is the album you need in your life right now.

She sounds niiice w "Pilgrim's Tale," on the recent AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T.Rex, produced by RIP Hal Willner.(Julian Lennon's co-billed on the track list, but he just pops up for a brisk John-style spoken comedy line at the end).
Would like to hear her do some more Bolan some tyme--she did do at least one covers collection, which I haven't heard. Wiki: In 2002 she issued an album of standards recorded during the sessions for her earlier records. Sings Some Ol' Songs includes classics such as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "My Funny Valentine" and "Moon River".
Also! Wiki mentions and links to site of this doc, Victoria Williams--Happy Come Home, directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker, 1997:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120426044249/http://phfilms.com/index.php/phf/film/victoria_williams_happy_come_home_1997/

I had never heard of her, and then Springsteen played "Summer of Drugs" on his radio show, and it was one of those moments where you're just casually listening and then ten seconds in you're like "OMG what is this? I MUST KNOW!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_E8qfIRHeY

That first verse is captivating.

amazing song

Loose is a great album. There are 5 or 6 brilliant songs and she had a great thing going there for a few years. Love her,

i heard "This Moment" last night and swear to god it has changed my whole outlook on life. i really needed that

Great song. Matthew Sweet did an excellent version on Sweet Relief too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIdfuClkvZM

Beyond the stuff she put out in the '90s, I hadn't heard or seen anything she had done until I went to the Lou Reed tribute concerts at Lincoln Center back in August of 2016. On my way in through security, this grey-haired woman who I could've mistaken for a sweet and kind aunt was standing next to me. As the security guard was checking me, she spoke up and asked him "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I'm in the right place. I'm supposed to perform tonight." "What's your name?" "Victoria Williams." I wish I had said something at the time - I even know people who actually worked with her many years ago, but it was such a tenuous connection that it didn't seem worth mentioning. Later on, she took part in a group performance of "Satellite Of Love" and was also one of the back-up singers when David Johansen did a great version of "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'." She also did a solo acoustic rendition of "I Love You" but stumbled a bit - it was still nice to see her and the crowd gave her a welcoming reception.

I wish her top-notch Swing The Statue was on streaming channels. Love that one beginning to end.

yeah i pulled out sweet relief last night for some reason. it came out when i was 13, back when i would pick my two or three songs and ignore the rest, so it was a revelation hearing it. i guess 13 year old me didn't get the power of "where we are now, soon we will be there"

open-hearted in way that i strive for and will never find

Good to see her still performing in the present decade (this is from 2021):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icD0TZwmEDQ

I did enjoy Happy Come Home but not really checked Victoria Williams out since then. Think I read it reviewed then found it in my local 2nd hand record shop. Pretty quirky.