Lyle Lovett -- POX

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