Lyle Lovett

It has been 17 years since Lyle Lovett arrived in Nashville with a demo tape hinting of the brilliantly eccentric career to come, a resume that now includes twelve albums, acclaim from the pickiest of critics, a fiercely loyal fan base, four million records sold, even a second calling as a successful film actor. But amid all the success, Lyle Lovett is modest and self-deprecating as ever: When asked to describe My Baby Don't Tolerate, his anticipated new album and his first release via the Lost Highway label, Lovett deadpans: "It's just more of my songs."

The fourteen tracks comprising the new album feature his unmistakable, idiosyncratic writing and his signature musical mix, which draws on country, folk, jazz, blues and western swing among other styles. But here the durable singer songwriter is clearly at the height of his imagination and musicianship.

My Baby Don't Tolerate has the definite feel of a band record and is propelled throughout by seamless instrumental interplay. Steel guitar runs permeate the rhythmic, upbeat trucker tune "Nothing But a Good Ride" as well as the lilting rural ode "In My Own Mind." With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the singer-songwriter sings of the joys of "Nashville" to the accompaniment of bouncing fiddle bows. The country rockers "Cute as a Bug" and "The Truck Song" are both in praise of down-home vehicles.

Like everything Lyle Lovett does, My Baby Don't Tolerate is thoroughly Texan. The Lone Star State is the birthplace of country's jazzy cousin, western swing and "San Antonio Girl" serves that style straight up, while his plea to the police in "Election Day" and the sad ballad of loss "You Were Always There" also nod in jazzy directions.

The album truly covers the whole spectrum of styles Lyle Lovett has navigated to date. He dips into the blues on songs like the loping "Big Dog" and the electrified title track, and the album closes with the gospel-inflected "I'm Gonna Wait" and "I'm Goin' to the Place."

Of all the artists who emerged in Nashville's mid-1980s whirlwind of experimentation,Lyle Lovett is one of the few who have achieved an enduring, significant career while staying constantly fresh and original. After releasing three critically acclaimed albums under the direction of Curb/ MCA Nashville ?Lyle Lovett (1986), the certified-gold Pontiac (1987), and the Grammy-winning Lyle Lovett and His Large Band (1989)?Lyle Lovett moved away from country to explore broader styles. The first of Lyle Lovett's Los Angeles-recorded albums, Joshua Judges Ruth (1992) is steeped in gospel and R&B. I Love Everybody (1994) features songs he had written as early as the 1970s, while 1996's gold-certified and Grammy-winning The Road to Ensenada found him returning to a mix of western swing, honky tonk, country and folk. The 1998 two-disc Step Inside This House was a tribute to Lyle Lovett's early Texas songwriting influences and was followed in 1999 by his first live album, Live in Texas. In 2000, Lovett released the film soundtrack to Robert Altman's Dr. T. & The Women.

But Lyle Lovett's songwriting and performing career really began long ago, years before he ever graced a stage in Nashville. He got his first guitar when he was seven years old and his first public performance came in the second grade when he sang "Long Tall Texan" at a school talent show, which he later recorded as a duet with Randy Newman on the 1996 release The Road to Ensenada. In general, Lyle Lovett tends to honor his past: He and his extended family still live on part of the original homestead he was raised on north of Houston, TX. Known as Klein, the area was an unincorporated farming community named after Lovett's great-great-grandfather Adam Klein, a German immigrant who arrived in the 1840s.

Music took a back seat until Lovett arrived at Texas A&M University in 1975. The outlaw Texas music scene was in full throttle, fueled by renegade roots artists such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Murphy, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Kinky Friedman, Willis Alan Ramsey, Steven Fromholz and others. Lovett was fascinated by the innovative blend of country, rock and blues and often joined artists in informal, front-porch guitar pulls where he honed his musicianship. As a journalism student, he wrote about the local music scene for the college paper. He also was indoctrinated in the local music scene by serving as a booking agent for the student coffeehouse, and as a student, he traveled to Europe where he toured and performed in small clubs.

One of Lovett's early admirers was singer/songwriter Nanci Griffith, who heard his original material and recorded his song "If I Were the Man (Woman) You Wanted" on her Once in a Very Blue Moon album in 1984. Texas native and veteran Nashville songwriter and recording artist Guy Clark was also a fan and managed to have a demo of Lovett's material delivered to MCA Nashville President Tony Brown, who signed Lyle to the label in 1986. Lovett's period in Nashville is widely considered one of the most creative times in the city's history. As country music execs searched for "the next thing," they signed a crop of acts that came from the alternative fringes of the genre, such as Steve Earle, K.D. Lang and Dwight Yoakam. Lyle Lovett was immediately embraced by audiences of both country and rock, who were drawn to his cerebral style.             By the millennium, Lovett had become known for acting as well. It began in 1991 when director Robert Altman cast the singer as detective DeLongpre in the film The Player. With his distinctive looks and deadpan delivery style, Lyle Lovett was perfect for Altman's stable of eccentric and recurring actors. He has teamed with the director four more times: in Short Cuts (1993), Ready to Wear (1995), Cookie's Fortune (1999) and as music composer for Dr. T. & The Women (2000). Outside the Altman camp, Lyle Lovett was cast as a protective uncle in the Anjelica Huston-directed Bastard out of Carolina (1996). In 1998, Lovett played Lisa Kudrow's romantic interest in the witty, provocative comedy The Opposite of Sex. He also made a cameo appearance in 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and appeared 2001's The New Guy.

But Hollywood has never swayed his focus; he says his first love is still songwriting. As he has told the New York Times: "A great song is a song that makes you think, and makes listening an honest emotional experience. There has to be an element of truth, and there's got to be some sort of sincere connection between the singer and the song." Now one of the most revered artists of his time, Lyle Lovett remains connected to his roots on My Baby Don't Tolerate.

*In association with Monterey Peninsula Artists