Lyle Lovett (album)
Lyle Lovett | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1986 | |||
Recorded | Chaton Recordings, Scottsdale, Arizona | |||
Genre | Country[1][2] | |||
Length | 32:30 | |||
Label | MCA/Curb | |||
Producer | Tony Brown, Lyle Lovett | |||
Lyle Lovett chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock | 4/5 bones[3] |
Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[5] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Lyle Lovett is the 1986 debut album by American singer Lyle Lovett. By the mid-1980s, Lovett had already distinguished himself in the burgeoning Texas singer-songwriter scene. He had performed in the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 1980 and returned to win in 1982.[7] In 1984, he recorded a four-song demo with the help of the Phoenix band J. David Sloan and the Rogues[8] and his music had begun to be distributed by the Fast Folk Musical Magazine[9]
Nanci Griffith had recorded Lovett's "If I Were the Man You Wanted" as "If I Were the Woman You Wanted" for her 1984 album, Once in a Very Blue Moon. He appears on that album as a vocalist and can also be seen in the picture on the cover of her subsequent album Last of the True Believers (1986).
Critical reception
[edit]Lyle Lovett was ranked No. 91 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the 1980s,[10] and both Velvet[11] and the Italian magazine Il Mucchio Selvaggio also listed it as one of the top 100 albums of the decade.[citation needed] Allmusic compares the album to Steve Earle's Guitar Town, calling it, "one of the most promising and exciting debut albums to come out of Nashville in the 1980s."[1] Robert Christgau described Lovett's debut as: "Writes like Guy Clark, only plainer, sings like Jesse Winchester only countrier."[2]
Track listing
[edit]All songs by Lyle Lovett, except "This Old Porch" by Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.
- "Cowboy Man" – 2:48
- "God Will" – 2:13
- "Farther Down the Line" – 3:05
- "This Old Porch" – 4:16
- "Why I Don't Know" – 2:41
- "If I Were the Man You Wanted" – 3:57
- "You Can't Resist It" – 3:08
- "The Waltzing Fool" – 3:49
- "An Acceptable Level of Ecstasy (The Wedding Song)" – 3:30
- "Closing Time" – 3:43
Personnel
[edit]Musicians
[edit]- Lyle Lovett – vocals, acoustic guitar; background vocals ("You Can't Resist It")
- Ray Herndon – electric rhythm guitar, background vocals; electric lead guitar ("Farther Down the Line" and "Why I Don't Know")
- Tom Mortensen – steel guitar
- Billy Williams – electric lead guitar; saxophone arrangements
- Vince Gill – electric rhythm guitar ("You Can't Resist It")
- Jon Goin – electric rhythm and lead guitars ("You Can't Resist It")
- Mac McAnally – acoustic lead guitar ("God Will", "Farther Down the Line" and "If I Were the Man You Wanted")
- Mathew McKenzie – bass
- Emory Gordy Jr. – bass ("Farther Down the Line")
- Mark Prentice – organ; piano ("God Will" and "Farther Down the Line")
- Matt Rollings – acoustic and electric piano
- John Jarvis – synthesizer ("You Can't Resist It")
- Jeff Borree – drums
- Bob Warren – drums ("Farther Down the Line", "This Old Porch" and "An Acceptable Level of Ecstasy")
- James Gilmer – congas
- Glen Duncan – fiddle
- Steve Marsh – saxophones
- J. David Sloan – background vocals
- Rosanne Cash – background vocals ("You Can't Resist It")
- Francine Reed – background vocals ("An Acceptable Level of Ecstasy")
Production
[edit]- Producers – Tony Brown and Lyle Lovett
- Associate Producer – Billy Williams
- Recorded at Chaton Recordings, Scottsdale, Arizona
- Engineer – Steven Moore
- Second Engineer – Andy Seagle
- Overdubs and Remix at Treasure Isle Recorders, Nashville, Tennessee
- Remixed – Gene Eichelberger
- Second Engineers – Tom Der and Tom Harding
- Mastered at Mastertonics using the JVC Audio Digital Mastering System
- Mastering – Glen Meadows
- Digital editing – Milan Bogdan
- Compact Disc master tap prepared by Glen Meadows and Milan Bogdan
Artwork
[edit]- Simon Levy – art direction
- Peter Nash – photography
- Mickey Braithwaite – design
- Kate Gillon & Sherri Halford – CD coordination
- Guy Clark – liner notes
Charts
[edit]Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[12] | 14 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Mark Deming, Allmusic (link)
- ^ a b c Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide (link)
- ^ Durchholz, Daniel (1999). "Lyle Lovett". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (second ed.). Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 695. ISBN 1578590612.
- ^ Rolling Stone Album Guide, USA, 1992, 2004
- ^ Sandow, Greg (1995). "Lyle Lovett". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 229–230. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2002). "Lovett, Lyle". The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise Fourth ed.). London: Virgin Books. p. 776. ISBN 1852279230.
- ^ "Kerrville Folk Festival Finalist History", compiled by Doug Coppock (link Archived February 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ Lyle Lovett profile, from the Richard De La Font Agency, Inc. (link)
- ^ "Fast Folk and Coop Database", compiled by Steven Alexander, 2002 (link)
- ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980's". Rolling Stone. No. 565. November 1, 1989.
- ^ Velvet, 1990 (according to rocklistmusic.co.uk (link)
- ^ "Lyle Lovett Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2023.