Little Honey is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on October 14, 2008, by Lost Highway Records. The album debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, selling 35,000 copies that week,[2] thereby becoming her first Top 10 album.
The album includes guest appearances by Elvis Costello, Susanna Hoffs, Matthew Sweet and Charlie Louvin.[1] "Circles and X's" was written in 1985, around the same time was "If Wishes Were Horses," while "Well Well Well" dates from 1991.[4] "Real Love" was released to radio and digital outlets as the first single.[4]
Little Honey was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on 23 reviews.[5]Spin called it "her finest record since Car Wheels on a Gravel Road," stating she "goes back to the roots-rock well and takes a long, satisfying swig".[6]Rolling Stone rated the 4 out of 5 stars, singling out the track "If Wishes Were Horses" as "sublime".[7]AllMusic called the album "the most polished and studied record she's ever made", stating "its sound is utterly contemporary, though its forms are rooted in electric '70s rock as well as her fallbacks on blues and old-school Americana", but concluded that there are "songs that pack some punch, but no jaw-dropping wallops".[8]
A "Bone of Contention" has been incorrectly regarded as an "AmazonMP3" exclusive bonus track. The live version (from the "Lu in '08" ep) was given away free to those who pre-ordered "Little Honey" from Amazon.com.