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Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

Texas is always on Lyle Lovett's mind

It is record-release day for Lyle Lovett, a Tuesday when his 14th album, Natural Forces, is being unleashed on the world.

Typically, such an occasion becomes the apex of a promotional push, a day loaded with TV appearances, performances and any number of exercises to capitalize on what is, in essence, "opening day" for a recording.

For Lovett — multiple Grammy Award-winning songsmith, stylistically innovative bandleader and all-around Texan — the day is something of a breather. A tour with fellow songwriting pal John Hiatt ended two days earlier. In less than a week, he will be back on the road for a month's worth of shows with his Large Band, the brassy Americana army that has been his most visible performance vehicle for the past two decades.

That means that although Natural Forces introduces the next edition of Lyle Lovett music, Lovett himself is back, briefly, in the only place he has ever called home: Texas.

"It's exactly where I've lived all my life," he said, "on the same piece of ground I grew up on outside of Houston."

To many, Lovett is the modern embodiment of Texas music — its celebratory swing, its vigorous country soul and, most of all, its extraordinary literate sense of storytelling. His songs are outlined with thieving hearts, family yarns and an unfailing pride in anything that hails from Lone Star territory.

In short, Lovett isn't merely a Texas artist. He is the state's unofficial cultural ambassador to the universe.

"All of that is high praise," Lovett said by phone. "But I just feel that like my music is a reflection of the music I'm drawn to, my intention with the songs I write is to say, 'Hey, this is where I'm from.'"

On Natural Forces, the Texas inspirations are twofold. There are four new compositions (one of which, Pantry, is reprised with a bluegrass arrangement), six tunes written by fellow Texas songwriters who have long been friends and mentoring influences, and a song (It's Rock and Roll) that he co-wrote nearly three decades ago with fellow Lone Star scribe Robert Earl Keen.

Keen said, "My father once told me that if I went through life with at least two best friends, I was set. I went, 'What are you talking about? I've got lots of friends.' But sure enough, he was right. And to say I have had Lyle as a best friend all these years has been wonderful."

For Lovett, the initial songwriting pull came from the masters: Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Vince Bell and scores of other Texas songwriters. But not even Texas could contain Lovett's expanding celebrity status as the '90s progressed. He toured internationally and took regular turns as an actor in television and film, including roles in five of Robert Altman's movies. But as the chorus of Natural Forces' title tune says, "home is where my horse is." Lovett devoted his sublime 1998 double-disc album, Step Inside This House, entirely to the music of his Texas inspirations. He does the same on the better half of Natural Forces.

"With Natural Forces, I knew going in that I didn't have 10 new songs of my own that I was thrilled about recording," Lovett said. "But those I did have I didn't want to get any older. I was very excited about recording them. The other songs were first considered for Step Inside This House. They have long been part of my musical life. I didn't learn anything new for this record. These were songs I've played and known for years."

Listen to Natural Forces as a whole and it is good bet that, unless you already know the outside material, you won't be able to distinguish Lovett the songwriter from Lovett the Texas interpreter. The songs share similar tones, temperaments and human detail. At its best, as on Lovett's Empty Blue Shoes, the mood is stark to the point of being impressionistic.

"I met Lyle in Dallas at a club that's now gone," said guitarist Leo Kottke, who shared numerous concert bills with Lovett after the release of Lovett's self-titled debut album in 1986. "I was in the dressing room and I could hear Lyle walk onstage. He hadn't sung a note yet. He just walked onstage and the room instantly became quiet. Some people can just immediately fill a stage. Lyle is one of them."

Of course, the ensemble that Lovett has favored in filling stages over the years has been his Large Band. It has accompanied Lovett at various Lexington venues over the past 20-plus years, from his local debut at the long-defunct Rhinestone's on Athens-Boonesboro Road in 1988 to a headlining performance at Rupp Arena in 2001.

"That's the beauty of that band: So many of us have played together for so many years. But that's also the part that doesn't seem real because I remember that first Lexington gig in 1988. It does not seem like it was over 20 years ago.

"You know, I was asked early on in interviews about my goals. People would ask, 'What would success mean for you?' The answer I always used to give was, 'Success would be the ability to continue doing something I love to do.' All these years later, that's still my definition. To do something I love without feeling guilty because I have to also devote time to another job. To be able to legitimately engage in this music all the time. ... I mean, there is just not a better feeling. That's the blessing of it all."