| My Baby Don't Tolerate - Lyle Lovett | |
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Reviewed by Kathy Coleman
There's no other word for it. Lyle Lovett is COOL. With his most recent collection of tunes, My Baby Don't Tolerate, an eclectic mix of Lyle's incomparable bluesy-rock/folk-country (his first release on Lost Highway Records), Lyle just delivers in style. This 14-song set is country cool, laid-back blues with an attitude, songs rich with poetry as well as fiddle (Stuart Duncan) and steel (Paul Franklin), and some kick-ass picking (Dean Parks).
The four-time Grammy winner is known as much for his distinctive, craggy face and wild hair as he is for his whiskey-smooth voice and velvet delivery, and Lovett has also managed to defy the world of niche marketing and genre placement by simply making music as he sees fit to
make it. While he has been known to do blues or that distinctive lounge-style crooning, Lyle really is mostly country. His music is warm and rich and appealing; and while My Baby Don't Tolerate has a few of those blues numbers, such as the title track, there is no mistaking this Texas native for anything but a country boy. From his lighthearted love song to a truck in "The Truck Song" to steel-dripping ballads such as "Working Too Hard," Lyle is country, as country is all too often never heard these days. He just flat doesn't sound like anyone else. He's himself, and that's wonderful.
Two of the songs on My Baby Don't Tolerate were previously recorded for Lyle's Anthology Volume One: Cowboy Man (one of my all time favorite albums) -- "San Antonio Girl" and "The Truck Song," but most are brand-new, and all are so good it's hard to chose a favorite. It starts off strong and fun with "Cute As A Bug," a pure Southern country love song to a little bitty gal he meets on the open road. "Nothing But A Good Ride" is a salute to a trucker (placed nicely right after "The Truck Song"); he swings a little with "Big Dog." There is no doubt Lyle can and does play the entire field when it comes to roots music. The two closing tracks take a different turn, as "I'm Going To Wait" and "I'm Going To The Place" are pure Southern Baptist-style, hand-clapping gospel numbers, vibrant and full of life and completely infectious. Only one song is not written by Lyle, and that's "Election Day," penned by Blaze Foley, an almost eerie little tune where Lyle whispers the peculiar lyrics, "Hey Mister Policeman/ Please don't take my stuff/ It cost me too much money/ And it probably ain't enough/ To get me through election day." It's a cool song.
My favorite track is "In My Own Mind," a gentle little song about life and how to live it happy, touched lightly with some sweet fiddle playing and acoustic guitar. "I live in my own mind/ Ain't nothing but a good time/ No rain, just sunshine/ Out here in my own mind."
Lyle Lovett doesn't record very often; this is his first album of almost all-new material in several years, and Lovett fans will be delighted. With any luck, Lost Highway Records will know better what to do with Lyle and his peculiar but delightful style and keep us in new Lovett music for many years to come. Lost Highway has proven itself as a label that knows and loves actual country music, from alt-country sounds to Lyle's blues-soaked deep Texas sound. Lyle Lovett is a lot like champagne -- some people have to acquire a taste for him. But he's so worth the sampling! There's nothing to dislike about this disc. Get a taste of Lyle Lovett.
Song List:
Album cover, used with permission of Lost Highway
Sound clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
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