There are very few artists who are as consistently excellent across a whole career as Lyle Lovett. He marries sharp, witty observations with immaculate musicianship, starting with his eponymous debut record and going right up to 2022’s belated, unexpected and rather delightful “12th of June”. This writer has already sung his praises in a previous Top Ten article, but with the power vested by this feature’s permissible negativity, and a little history re-writing, let’s commence with which of the treasure trove of wonders could be lived without.
Can’t Live With It: “Joshua Judges Ruth” (1992)
OK, so I do want to start with a disclaimer – or a reminder – that there is no such thing as a bad Lyle Lovett album. The production on this is immaculate – it sounds amazing, even by his own high standards. Lovett’s ability to unpick the foibles of the human condition through his own inimitable words remains in place. There are some touching songs that are achingly poignant – North Dakota and She’s Already Made Up Her Mind, for example. Unimpeachable.
But oh my goodness, the sheer length of so many of these songs – on and on they go, piling on the words, the instrumental sections, the gospel voices, the whatever it may be. Somebody stop him! He’s usually so erudite in not allowing unnecessary clutter, but no, full rein here. Even if the songs are great, there is an eye-rolling amount of quantity. No Ockham’s razor to be seen, more is definitely more. Enough already, Lyle, stop making three-minute songs into four-minute songs and four-minute songs into seven-minute songs!
Now for the other thing, and this may be an even more challenging view (deep breath) – the music just isn’t that good. And by that, I don’t mean the playing – like I say, it sounds amazing. And as mentioned, his words are as on point as always (even if there are sometimes too many). But the arrangements, though slick, are mostly lacking in inventiveness, and standout melodies are few and far between. At times, it just sounds a little like trying to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. There, I’ve said it.
So, despite ranking it as no. 4 in the Top Ten Lovett list (what was I thinking? Perhaps I was trying to be respectful to the legions of Lovett fans who clearly love this record, and probably for perfectly good reasons), I have to say, it’s the one album of his I never listen to all through. Can’t do it. It just gets too blah blah blah. It’s still good compared to almost anyone else, though. It’s Lovett, after all.
Can’t Live Without It: ‘I Love Everybody” (1994)
So, in sharp contrast, the follow up to Joshua Judges Ruth was this understated gem, slipping out with a minimum of fanfare (even by his standards). Minimal productions, built around the basic acoustic guitar, and with the 18 songs averaging less than three minutes a throw, the words and the melodies are pushed into the foreground. In the hands of a lesser songwriter, this could result in too much earnest intensity, with artists reaching for emotional gut punches where sometimes they don’t have the creative skill to back it up. Not Lovett, though.
Starting with the self effacing Skinny Legs, his trademark wry humour is very much present throughout. Fat Babies, They Don’t Like Me, Hello Grandma, the hilarious but unsettling Creeps Like Me, the quirky but funky Penguins, the list just keeps going. Being Lovett, though, there’s somehow an extra bit of deceptively concealed depth to even the oddest outings, enough to make you smile and think, too.
As the album progresses, there are some lovely melancholic, thoughtful moments, too, such as Old Friends, Just the Morning, and the heartfelt but hard-edged observations of The Fat Girl. Finally of course, the everyone-join-in uplift of title track I Love Everybody – as ever, typical of Lovett, there are some wince-worthy twists even in this simplicity.
So, for this writer, the less is more approach is nearly always best – providing you are as skilled a writer and performer as Lovett. Leave the long versions for live, and don’t be padding out minutes on albums with too much fluff (however shiny and skilled that fluff is). Over to you, dear reader – be gentle!
