Lyle Lovett – Natural Forces

Album Reviews • Monday November 2nd, 2009 • 9:55 am

This is Lyle Lovett’s cross to bear: Twenty years and eleven albums into his career, he’s doomed to be forever derided as a “consistent” artist — as though that’s such a bad thing. So the man makes albums that are all so good, it’s hard to pick which one’s the best; how dare he! I admit that his albums have more or less all been cut from the same cloth, and, on a stylistic level, Lovett’s music can sound a little samey. But each album is like a variation on a theme, and each one tends to have its own character, if not its own sound.

Natural Forces might be the quintessential Lyle Lovett album — the one that best sums up what he’s done and what he’s about. As such, it’s likely to be a big hit with his faithful fans, and unlikely to win over any of his critics, who will no doubt hear it as just another Lyle Lovett record, which it is. Thing is, it’s a very fine one, and in some ways it seems to pull together all the different strands of his work; Lovett has always been a sharp songwriter, but he’s also shown a keen interest in interpreting the work of others, especially Texas songsmiths, as heard on his all-Texan covers album Step Inside This House, and Natural Forces is an organic fusion of those two passions: It’s half Lovett originals, half Texan covers.

Beyond that, the biggest difference between this and his last record, It’s Not Big, It’s Large, is its size. Lovett recorded this one without the Large Band that’s backed him for some of his best work, including that 2007 set, so, relatively speaking, this one has a small-group feel to it that naturally makes the album feel a bit more intimate. It’s sparser, and also a bit slower, and, without an entire mini-orchestra to lead through jazz workouts and old-timey swing, it’s more closely rooted to country music than anything he’s cut in a good while. This setting suits Lovett well: It’s Not Big occasionally sounded overwrought, but this one is perfectly suited to conveying the warmth, sadness, and humor of the songs. It’s elegant and full-sounding without any needless ornamentation.

Forces is also the first Lovett album where the sound is really something to shout about. Lovett produced the set with longtime collaborator Billy Williams, who brings a typically warm, clear sound to these songs. But the difference here is that, with this particular band, there’s more room than ever to hear the contributions of the musicians. Here special recognition belongs to fiddle player Stuart Duncan and steel guitarist Paul Franklin, whose playing is haunting, floating high and lonesome over these songs and delivering a wistful quality to the ballads and a jauntiness to the more upbeat numbers.

And the songs? Not only are they all winners, but they represent the best of what Lovett’s music has always been: They’re melancholy but also slyly sunny, and they contain none of the mean humor that has tarnished his work from time to time. The title track, which opens the album, is a perfect song for Lovett – a road song, written from the perspective of a touring musician, in which the urge to keep moving is attributed to “natural forces.” It places itself in the pantheon of great country/cowboy songs about the ramblin’ life, but its conclusion comes with a bitter twist.

Lovett rewrites a traditional blues song here, just as he did on the last album, with “Farmer Brown/Chicken Reel,” a finger-snapping hoedown that falls somewhere between jump blues and Texas swing. It’s a gag, but its energy and goofy humor are infectious. After that is “Pantry,” a wry song about cheating that speaks to fidelity in culinary metaphors — another song that mixes dry humor and underlying sadness to effectively, it’s amazing it’s taken Lovett so long to write it.

The Lovett tunes that start the album make a compelling first act, but the heart of the record actually seems to lie in the back half. Things slow down considerably after the opening shots are fired, with nearly all of the cover songs being ballads, but they’re all full of empathy and grace, and the interplay between the musicians makes each one sparkle. Eric Taylor’s “Whooping Crane” is a highlight, a devastating song underscored by the pedal steel, and Tommy Elskes’ “Bohemia” is a jaunty piano-based tune. Townes van Zandt’s “Loretta” is the most familiar thing here, and it’s performed with compassion and warmth.

Lovett bridges his twin impulses with the final track, “It’s Rock and Roll,” which he wrote with Robert Earl Keen. It’s a wry, musical travelogue that narrowly avoids bitterness. Its humor is knowing, and rooted in something a bit sad, which makes it the perfect conclusion to any Lyle Lovett record, but especially this one: Calling Natural Forces his best work might be fruitless, but it’s certainly a candidate for the album that best represents who Lovett is, and it’s among his most satisfying and moving works.