Williams' voice sweet on 'Honey'

"Riding down the highway / Going to a show / Stop in all the by-ways / Playing rock and roll / Getting robbed / Getting stoned / Getting beat up / Broken boned / Getting had / Getting took / I tell you folks / It's harder than it looks / It's a long way to the top / If you wanna rock and roll …"

Yes, those are the lyrics to the classic AC-DC hit, but Lucinda Williams fans might be surprised to hear the roots-rock singer's version on her forthcoming album "Little Honey."

"At first, I didn't dig it," Williams said, "but I gave it a shot and what do you know? It seems to have worked."

In actuality, everything seems to have worked when it comes to the Louisiana native's career.

She released her first album, "Ramblin," in 1978, and though it received little attention, Williams, who is known for taking her time in the studio, made her breakthrough in '88 with her self-titled release. Ten years after that, she released the critically and commercially acclaimed "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road."

Yet another 10 years and five albums later, "Essence," "World Without Tears," "Live at the Fillmore" and "West," the 55-year-old is releasing "Little Honey" in October.

"Whatever record I'm doing reflects my life," she said.

Her Web site describes the album as "an upbeat disc of bluesy rockers and contented love songs."

The 13-track disc, co-produced by Eric Liljestrand and Tom Overby, Williams' manager and fiance, is decidedly different than last year's "West." "Little Honey" is dedicated to her mother, who recently passed way.

Vanity Fair magazine praised "West" in a review: "Lucinda Williams has made the record of a lifetime: part Hank Williams, part Bob Dylan, part Keith Richards circa Exile on Main St."

Ironically, some of the material found on "Honey" was originally intended for "West."

The album features guests Matthew Sweet, Susanna Hoffs, Jim Lauderdale and Charlie Louvin as well as longtime friend Elvis Costello.

The album received early praise from Paste magazine, which listed the advance copy of "Jailhouse Tears," a duet with Costello, one of the five greatest country/rock duets of all time.

Williams is not afraid to share her opinion about political issues. A new song, "Bone of Contention," will be included in a soon-to-be released digital EP. Williams appears as number 22 in a list by Paste magazine of the 100 greatest songwriters of all time.

"I've found protest songs or topical songs to be the most challenging types of songs for me," Williams told Paste. "I find myself having a hard time not sounding either too in-your-face angry or too sugar-coated sappy, like 'OK, everybody get together.' It's just so hard to do.

"(Bone of Contention) is kind of written in a bluesy, almost like a ZZ-Top-ish or a Tony Jo White swampy bluesy thing," she said in the online magazine.

Keith Ryan Cartwright is a Colorado-based freelance entertainment journalist.