Track Listing

1. Tickle Toe
2. I Will Rise Up / Ain't No More Cane
3. All Downhill
4. Don't Cry A Tear
5. South Texas Girl
6. This Traveling Around
7. Up In Indiana
8. The Alley Song
9. No Big Deal
10. Make It Happy
11. Ain't No More Cane
12. Up In Indiana (acoustic)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #761 in Music
• Released on: 2007-08-28
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
On his sophomore effort for Lost Highway (and first release in four years), Lyle Lovett tests the label's free-spirited reputation with an eclectic slate of songs that range from fervent country swing through gospel-blues, though the core here finds the Texas singer-songwriter in a decidedly quiet, introspective mood. Anchored by a vibrant, swinging take on Lester Young's "Tickle Toe," his big band's first sprawling instrumental workout in many a year, Lovett quickly segues into the intriguing gospel-blues of the "I Will Rise Up/Ain't No More Cane" medley before shrewdly contemplating the backside of life and fame's inevitable grade on "All Downhill from Here" and the weary "This Traveling Around." The plaintive grace of "Don't Cry a Tear" and "The Alley Song" hauntingly blurs genre boundaries, while "South Texas Girl" does a little quiet Tex-Mex retrenchment. Lovett celebrates his 50th year here with a muse that's ever restless, yet still spry enough to relish the simple, varied joys of the buoyant "Up in Indiana" (also featured in a stripped-down acoustic version), the bluesy "No Big Deal," and the gospel-meets-carnal playfulness of "Make It Happy" before another fervent, elegiac version of "Ain't No More Cane" brings the album full-circle. --Jerry McCulley

About the Artist
What do you suppose would happen if we took the time to recognize the accomplishments of our beloved American musicians, their enormous talent while they were still at the height of their careers? Let's come out and say it: Lyle Lovett is one of the all-time great American singer/songwriters and should be recognized as such. His voice is unique, but his antecedents are recognizable. In his work two roads come together, ¬the trail blazed by the great Texas storytellers of whom Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark are the best known, and the crooked highway navigated by sophisticated wise-asses such as Randy Newman and Tom Waits. Lovett's first gift was to combine these two potent strands of musical DNA into a new genome able to generate songs as brilliant and double-sided as "If I Had A Boat," "God Will," "If I Were the Man You Wanted," "Family Reserve" and "Her First Mistake." That would be plenty for any composer to base a career on, but Lovett was also capable of both flat-out humor ("That's Right (You're Not From Texas"), "Here I am," "Church") and heartbreakers that were poignant without ever descending into sentimentality ("She's Already Made Up Her Mind," "Nobody Knows Me," "The Road To Ensenada"). What emerged was a picture of a smart and complicated man, whose good humor and generosity of spirit were holding back a darker character. Out of such tensions, many artists are born.

Lyle Lovett does a lot of things very well, but one of his most important talents is his ability to make us aware of how much the past lives in us and how what we do today shapes how we will consider our lives later. The people in old songs, old photographs and even old TV shows were once just as alive and full of feelings as we are now. They were what we are; we will someday be as they are. That can be an intimidating thought, but Lovett also offers us consolation; when we sing their songs, when we remember them, they are alive again.

Album Description
While music should be and is open for interpretation by the listener, Lovett's new album, IT'S NOT BIG IT'S LARGE, suggests notions of mortality, loss and the fluidity of time. In many of the songs, the past intrudes on the present and the narrator finds strength to deal with the travails of today by putting them into historical perspective. That sounds like heavy-going, but its Lovett's gift to make the deep thoughts slide down like honey.

Customer Reviews

Mr. Lovett's done it again!
I have been a fan of Mr. Lovetts for at least 10 years and am never disappointed in any of his CD's and this one is no exception. Some of the songs are repeated in this selection and at first I questioned this, however after listening to this CD a few times you realize that the arrangements are slightly different and in some cases the lyrics are sung to different melodies entirely, which gives the whole song a completely different feel to it. I would recommend this CD to anyone who is a fan of country or even blues music.

indecision
this is what i feel about this one, a little bit of indecision. The 3 stars rating is maybe too low, but closer to the truth than the 4 stars rating. I have to say mr. Lovett told us a little lie this time, as you can hear the large band isn't so large, except for the first two tracks, so if you remember the large band album in 1989 or "live in texas" there isn't much of it in here. Anyway, you can find the usual warm, confidential, really great use of voice by Lyle and the usual wonderful team of musicians, nothing to say! About the songs: there is a little lie here too. Two of them are repeated twice, in obvious different form, and a couple seem to come from the same idea, so the track list may seem shorter than written on the cd. But i must say the are enough great songs to justify your time and money, with a special mention to "south texas girl" with Guy Clark, "ain't no more cane" and "the alley song" though, like Van Morrison, Lyle tends to rewrite always the same song, but i love both of them! So, this one is not the cd you can't do without, but especially if you don't know Lyle Lovett you can start here then go back to "the road to ensenada", "joshua judges ruth", "and his large band", "pontiac" and the live album. So if you can't have it don't lose your sleep, but if you buy it enjoy it my friend!

Lyle strikes again
Great sound! Lyle's music is so appealing to those of us who like great craftsmanship with a slightly twisted edge.