THE ROAD TO ENSENADA - 9070

Amazon.com After the more experimental themes and misanthropic bit players populating his prior album, I Love Everybody, the songs on this superb 1996 set return to the more affable, earnest, but still knotty balance established by Lyle Lovett on his first four albums. He spins amiable yarns about his preferred headgear ("Don't Touch My Hat") and larger-than-life love objects (the one-eyed "Fiona"), sways hilariously through the backfired seductions of the samba-paced "Her First Mistake," and swings buoyantly through "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)," then ropes the equally droll Randy Newman into a tongue-in-cheek duet on "Long Tall Texan." In between, he sneaks a fresh string of dark love songs ("Private Conversation," "I Can't Love You Anymore") that sustain his formidable standards. Forget the forced issue of his putative ties to "new country": Lovett is simply one of the best American singer-songwriters extant, whether playing raconteur, philosopher king, or wounded romantic. --Sam Sutherland Product description 1.) Don't Touch My Hat 2.) Her First Mistake 3.) Fiona 4.) That's Right (You're Not From Texas) 5.) Who Loves You Better 6.) Private Conversation 7. Promises 8. It Ought To Be Easier 9. I Can't Love You Anymore 10. Long Tall Texan 11. Christmas Morning 12. The Road To Ensenada~ Since Pontiac, Lyle Lovett has been experimenting with different sounds, whether it was the big band posturing of Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, the gospel overtones of Joshua Judges Ruth, or the '70s singer/songwriter flourishes of I Love Everybody. With The Road to Ensenada, he hunkers down and produces his most straightforward album since Pontiac. As it happens, it is also his best record since that breakthrough album. Lovett strips the sound of the album down to the bare country essentials, allowing it to drift into Western swing, country-rock, folk, and honky tonk when necessary. He also decides to balance his weightier material ("Private Conversation," "Who Loves You Better," "It Ought to Be Easier," "I Can't Love You Anymore," "Christmas Morning") with fun, lighthearted numbers like "Don't Touch My Hat," "Fiona," and "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)," which are funny without being silly. In fact, The Road to Ensenada is the lightest album Lyle Lovett has ever made -- the darkness that hung around the fringes of Pontiac, Joshua Judges Ruth, and I Love Everybody has drifted away, leaving his wry sense of humor and a newly found empathetic sentimentality. The combination of straightforward instrumentation and lean, catchy, and incisive songwriting results in one of the best albums of his career -- he's just as eclectic and off-handedly brilliant as he has always been, but on The Road to Ensenada he's more focused and less flashy about his own talent than he's ever been. ~ AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
ASIN: B000002OZO
VSKU: 4EKGU90061ZT_ns
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Lovett, Lyle
Binding: Audio CD