Lyle Lovett (album)

Lyle Lovett is Lovett's 1986 eponymous debut album. 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 Lovett recorded a four song demo with the help of the Phoenix band, J. David Sloan and the Rogues.[8] His music had begun to be distributed by the Fast Folk Musical Magazine[9]

Lyle Lovett
Studio album by
Lyle Lovett
Released1986
RecordedChaton Recordings, Scottsdale, Arizona
GenreCountry, folk, singer-songwriter
Length32:30
LabelMCA/Curb
ProducerTony Brown, Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett chronology
Lyle Lovett
(1986)		 Pontiac
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
Music Hound4/5 bones[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
Spin7/10[5]
Virgin[6]

Nanci Griffith had previously 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. Lovett appears on the album as a vocalist and even appears on the cover of her Last of the True Believers album.

Chart performance

Lovett's debut reached number 14 on Billboard's chart for Top Country Albums.

Chart (1986) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 14

Critical acclaim

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 cited it as one of the top 100 albums of the decade.[12] 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

All songs by Lyle Lovett, except "This Old Porch" by Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.

  1. "Cowboy Man" – 2:48
  2. "God Will" – 2:13
  3. "Farther Down the Line" – 3:05
  4. "This Old Porch" – 4:16
  5. "Why I Don't Know" – 2:41
  6. "If I Were the Man You Wanted" – 3:57
  7. "You Can't Resist It" – 3:08
  8. "The Waltzing Fool" – 3:49
  9. "An Acceptable Level of Ecstasy (The Wedding Song)" – 3:30
  10. "Closing Time" – 3:43

Personnel

Musicians
  • 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
  • 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
  • Simon Levy – art direction
  • Peter Nash – photography
  • Mickey Braithwaite – design
  • Kate Gillon & Sherri Halford – CD coordination
  • Guy Clark – liner notes

References
  1. Mark Deming, Allmusic (link)
  2. Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide (link)
  3. Music Hound, USA, 1988–89 (4 "bones", scale 0–5), according to acclaimedmusic.net
  4. Rolling Stone Album Guide, USA, 1992, 2004
  5. Spin's Book of Alternative Albums, USA, 1995 (according to acclaimedmusic.net)
  6. Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, UK, 2002 (according to acclaimedmusic.net)
  7. "Kerrville Folk Festival Finalist History", compiled by Doug Coppock (link Archived February 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine)
  8. Lyle Lovett profile, from the Richard De La Font Agency, Inc. (link)
  9. "Fast Folk and Coop Database", compiled by Steven Alexander, 2002 (link)
  10. The Editors (November 1, 1989). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980's". Rolling Stone (565).
  11. Velvet, 1990 (according to rocklistmusic.co.uk (link)
  12. Il Mucchio Selvaggio, 2002 (according to acclaimedmusic.net link)
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