A lot of people were worried when Lucinda Williams got married. After all, she's been the Queen of Heartache for years, with songs like "Changed The Locks," "Out of Touch," and "Lonely Girls," just to name a few.

When she and Tom Overby married nearly two years ago, many lamented that now that she'd found happiness in love, the wellspring of incredible songwriting that earned her a Grammy award for her album "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" would run dry. Far from it, as Williams has released her first album since that joyous occasion, aptly titled "Blessed."

It describes how Lucinda feels about her life, and the album is an extension of that joy. "Blessed" is without a doubt one of her finest moments since "Car Wheels," and her songwriting has never been more reflective or mature. In fact, the changes in her life have liberated her from the demands of writing songs of unrequited love and expanded her subject matter, but it hasn't affected her ability to rock.
The album opens with "Buttercup," an acidic rocker that confirms immediately she hasn't lost her touch. "Seeing Black" is another smoker, inspired by Vic Chestnutt's suicide. "Soldier's Song" is an intense tune that effectively ties the hell of war to the tedium of domestic life and features Elvis Costello on guitar, as does "Buttercup" and "Convince Me."

Williams' sweet side comes out with "Sweet Love," "Born to Be Loved," and the tune that concludes the album, "Kiss Like Your Kiss," a song that saw its debut on the HBO series "True Blood" and earned a Grammy nomination. It was the first love song she wrote for her husband. With "Blessed," Lucinda Williams has finally proven once and for all that misery is not a prerequisite for great songwriting, and in the process has blessed us all with a great record.