Sweet Old World (1992)

Williams sings with a drawling, gravel-dusted Southern cadence that turns every syllable into a tactile object. Before the electric stomp of her later records, this 1992 gem revealed the extraordinary poetic power of her voice at its most vulnerable. Addressing suicides, lingering regrets and small town romances, her understated phrasing finds immense resonance in acoustic guitars and crying accordions.