Lyle Lovett
October 2009
Lyle
Lovett’s latest release, Natural Forces,
is set for an October 20 release on Curb/Lost
Highway and finds the artist covering familiar
territory. Texas is the common theme running throughout
Natural Forces, but not as the subject matter
as much as the songwriters Lovett chose to cover.
Natural Forces boasts four Lovett-penned originals,
with seven songs written by Texas songwriters
who have influenced Lovett over the years.
Though
he was initially labeled as a country singer,
the tag never quite fit him. Lovett had more in
common with '70s singer/songwriters like Guy Clark,
Jesse Winchester, Randy Newman, and Townes Van
Zandt, combining a talent for incisive, witty
lyrical detail with an eclectic array of music,
ranging from country and folk to big-band swing
and traditional pop. Lovett's literate, multi-layered
songs stood out among the formulaic Nashville
hit singles of the late '80s as well as the new
traditionalists who were beginning to take over
country music.
Drawing
from alternative country and rock fans, Lovett
quickly built up a cult following which began
to spill over into the mainstream with his second
album, 1988's Pontiac. Following Pontiac, his
country audience declined, but his reputation
as a songwriter and musician continued to grow,
and he sustained a dedicated cult following throughout
the '90s. Born in Klein, TX -- a small town named
after his great-grandfather, a Bavarian weaver
called Adam Klein, which later became a Houston
suburb -- Lovett was raised on his family horse
ranch. He didn't begin his musical career until
he began writing songs while he attended Texas
A&M University in the late '70s, where he
studied journalism and German. While he was a
student, he performed covers and original songs
at local folk festivals and clubs. As a graduate
student, he traveled to Germany to study and continued
to write and play while he was in Europe. However,
he didn't begin to pursue a musical career in
earnest until he returned to America in the early
'80s. more
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