Lucinda Williams plots protest songs EP

By Michael D. Ayers

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Lucinda Williams will release a digital-only EP of protest songs on October 28, two weeks after the veteran roots-rocker's ninth studio record, "Little Honey," reaches stores.

"Lu in 08," which is timed to hit a week before the U.S. presidential election, sports four live tracks, three of which are covers: Bob Dylan's "Masters of War," Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," and the Thievery Corporation/Wayne Coyne collaboration "Marching the Hate Machines Into the Sun."

The fourth cut is the Williams original "Bone of Contention," which was originally intended for inclusion on "Little Honey."

"It's a pretty powerful protest song," Williams told Billboard.com. "The track didn't come out the way I wanted it to (in the studio). We went out to do some shows, and I played the song live by myself at Summerfest (in Milwaukee). It just came out killer."

Williams returns to the road on September 25 in Asheville, N.C., to promote "Little Honey." It marks the follow-up to the largely down-tempo release "West," which started at a career-best No. 14 on the Billboard 200 in February 2007.

Reuters/Billboard