I first heard the name Victoria Williams in connexion with Pearl Jam's cover of her song "Crazy Mary" (still probably my fave Pearl Jam cut, not that I've really listened to any of their stuff any time recently), recorded for a benefit cd in her aid; last year, I came across a few more references to her as I drifted in the folk/roots direction. Water To Drink is the first of her albums that I've listened to and, I have to say, it doesn't really sound the way that I imagined a Victoria Williams album would sound.
I'd expected her take on folk to be idiosyncratic - which it is, in spades - but what I hadn't realised is that said idiosyncrasy would involve mining not only folk and country seams and those which are generally considered to be adjacent to them, but also taking substantial cues from jazz, torch, and old time soul (not to mention, on final song "A Little Bit Of Love", copping some licks from Pachelbel's Canon). Williams' quavery little-girl voice is a bit of an acquired taste (even for someone like myself, who's obviously no stranger to that kind of thing) but has a certain charm; the songs are a mixed bag but generally strong. I like it.
