Victoria Williams

In the brief story-song "Happy," Los Angeles-based Victoria Williams tells of a woman who
has a dog named Happy. When she calls for it, all her neighbors think that she's shouting
that she's happy and that she's "crazy, right out of her head." A lot of people will probably
have the same reaction to Williams – who is married to singer-songwriter Peter Case – as
she sings the praises of shoes, animals, bums, her rural Southern childhood and... More >

Sui generis it may be, yet in a great semipopular tradition: oddball folkie meets El Lay, represented by her coproducers born-again Steven Soles and bicoastal Anton Fier, as well as venerable oddball Van Dyke Parks, whose string arrangements prove him her soul brother. Her roots are in Cajunland, so naturally she sings like a cross between Dolly Parton and Yoko Ono. If you fear art damage, I cannot tell a lie, so maybe you'll believe me when I add that it's tolerable. Shoes, Jesus, merry-go-rounds, and animals--lots of animals. Hirth Martinez would be proud. (Grade: B+)