Lyle Lovett -- POX

I like The Road to Ensenada a fair bit (more than Pontiac), and recommend it. ...And His Large Band, my first Lyle disc, leads with two great tunes - one an instrumental, and the other a half-spoken novelty single (the one that brought me to him), but the wimmin-hatin on the rest is usually nothing to write home about, even with more of the Large Band, and Francine Reed up front, and so my copy mostly collects dust. The first, self-titled record is supposed to be his most country and pretty good (sounds like he's never made a really good one, though most of them are ok enough). I Love Everybody seems to be the one for big Randy Newman fans to get.

god will
if i had a boat
l.a. county
walk through the bottomland
good intentions
i've been to memphis
she's already made up her mind
skinny legs
la to the left
that's right (you're not from texas)

This is really the only Lyle Lovett thread on ILX? Seriously?

His new one - It's Not Big It's Large - is terrific. Anyone else feeling it?

Been in a Lyle mood lately. The song "Fat Babies" might not make my POX list, but it has this lyric:

I don't like hippies
And I don't like cornbread
And I don't like much

But I like you
Cause you like me
And you don't like much

This, to me, is a great love song. :)

Anyway, my list:

Nobody Knows Me
North Dakota
Family Reserve
Skinny Legs
Creeps Like Me
Private Conversation
I Will Rise Up/Ain't No More Cane
Promises
Just the Morning
She's Hot To Go

You could round that out if you can find a good live version of "You Can't Resist It" -- much better that way than the recorded versions. Maybe YouTube has it.

A POX ON LYLE LOVETT

Well, something sure happened to his face.

little known fact: lyle lovett and david lynch are twins

Long ago separated at the hair.

What about "She's Already Made Up Her Mind", Kenan?

Yeah, that's a fantastic song. That + "North Dakota" make for a really heavy ten minutes of that record.

Yeah, Joshua Judges Ruth is really nicely put together that way.

Another song I've been listening to a lot if "The Front Porch Song," co-written with Robert Earl Keen. Robert Earl claimed it, so it's not fair to put on the Lyle list.

The live version is the definitive one, of course.

I mean, what great lyrics.

little known fact: lyle lovett and david lynch are twins

That reminds me of a story Lyle told one time when he was on Austin City Limits. Back before he was recording, Lyle was friends with some of the crew on the show, and they'd get him tickets to tapings. During said tapings, he almost always appeared in audience shots. After he got famous and started performing on the show, someone got the bright idea to edit some of his old audience footage into his performance broadcast. Lyle then explained that he could tell when the show had recently aired because he suddenly get numerous fan inquires about either (A) his twin brother in the audience, or (B) some guy who looked alot like him in the audience.

To top it off, during the song he did after telling the story, younger Lyle once again appeared in a crowd shot.

i love lyle lovett.

things i like about this guy:

a) his voice
b) his lyrics
c) his songs
d) his face

my mom listened to him a lot when i was in high school; haven't really heard him since then but i have fond feelings for him

the achilles heel for a lot of people, and sometimes for me, is the production and arrangement on the songs. it can sound kind of drippy.

What are the first couple of albums I should check out given there's no (real) anthology?

I'd start with Lyle Lovett and Joshua Judges Ruth, tho Pontiac and Road To Ensenada are also full of great stuff.

Joshua Judges Ruth, Pontiac, Lyle Lovett & His Large Band. (No idea if these are still in print.)

Joshua Judges Ruth is such a good album title

my pox, off the top of my head and surely missing some stuff i'll regret...

God Will
You Can't Resist It
If I Were The Man You Wanted
LA County
Walk Through The Bottomland
She's Already Made Up Her Mind
Family Reserve
Flyswatter/Ice Water Blues
It Ought To Be Easier
The Road To Ensenada

"North Dakota" is sublime.

If I Had A Boat popped up on the iPod yesterday. Great song, kemo sabe.

most recently heard "if i had a boat" about three weeks ago, when i was actually on a boat. just a small pontoon boat in the middle of a lake, but everybody knew the words and sang along.

no pony on the boat, no credibility.

cowboy man is a great anthology, imo! i guess it stops around '96 or so?

Recent Tiny Desk Concert on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/event/music/166752674/lyle-lovett-tiny-desk-concert

What a great guy. I love him.

Listening to Lyle Lovett and His Large Band for the first time in many years. It's great, and what seemed a bit gimmicky back then, the combo of country and big band, now seems organic.

This and Lou Reed's New York were part of the end of 80s studio sounds to my ears, and both are recordings/arrangements that hold up really well as timeless.

The quintessential Lovett song not written by Lovett:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebe84slxX3k

Where to go after the first album? I wasn't impressed -- "nice" is all I can say.

First album's pretty dull. Would try Lyle Lovett & His Large Band and Joshua Judges Ruth, and Pontiac if the tinge of what could come across as misogyny isn't distracting.

sometimes the earlier, bluesy, jazzy stuff is just exactly what you want i.e. “crying shame”, “i know you know”, “she’s no lady” etc

Things To Miss About Physical Media: The unlisted bonus track on on Ensenada, with the printed lyrics hidden under the back page gatefold in the booklet.

Listened to Pontiac for the first time in a long time. There are some winners on Side A -- the brisk "LA County" and rather pretty, Emmylou-backed "Walk Through the Bottomland" -- but I guess I'd blocked out the lounge jazz run on Side B of "She's No Lady" -> "M-O-N-E-Y" -> "Black and Blue" for good reason. Yick.

joshua judges ruth has two perfect songs on it in north dakota and family reserve

husband made a joke about “lyles in love” ( a mondegreen of the famous Hooters chorus, yes) and i suddenly was like “i haven’t heard ‘Fat Babies’ in more than a decade” and now i am listening to Joshua Judges Ruth. love this record.

We named our son Lyle. I was never a huge fan but my son liked that he had his name so we would listen to a bunch when he was younger. He’s 9 now and I told him to put some pants on the other day. He said dad, I thought pants were overrated….

Anyone seen him live and recommend it? In March, he's playing with John Hiatt only a few miles from me, around the corner from my best friend's house. Tickets are $70, so want someone to recommend it before I take the plunge so to speak.

I am sure he's fuckin great

I saw him in 95 and he was great (sweet pea and harry bowens on backing vox)
Lol though that's a long time ago.

I have his earlier classic run but had never heard Step Inside This House. Man. It’s fucking good. His Townes covers are excellent.

Funny I was just listening to I Love Everybody the other week. Lyle's in the air. Tables, I saw Lovett and Hiatt on a prior duo tour and it was a really fun show. They were on stage together the whole time, chatting and telling stories and jokes and trading off songs. Of course, imo it's not a meeting of equals — I like John Hiatt fine, but he's no Lyle Lovett. So it's not the same experience as a full Lovett set list. But I like that they're pals who enjoy touring together, it was a good time.

thanks tipsy and all. i think i am going to ask for tickets for xmas.

"She's Already Made Up Her Mind" -- what a song.

I think I've seen a Lyle and Hiatt tour as well, and I remember it being a lot of fun. I also like Lyle a lot better, but I was surprised at how good Hiatt was.

For sure, the show I saw made me think I'd underrated him a bit. And also a lot of the fun is just their rapport.

"She's Already Made Up Her Mind" -- what a song.

i'm not sure i could bring myself to listen to it even now. devastating

I saw some mentions of his voice going on recent tours, but I think those have all been Large Band shows. So seeing him solo might even be the best way these days.