Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1987…
#7 – Pontiac – Lyle Lovett
I discovered Lyle Lovett in the early 90s and immediately fell for his unique blend of country, blues, swing, and jazz. His songs are equal parts wit and wisdom, toe-tapping and introspective.
My favorite Lovett albums are three he released between 1989 and 1996: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Joshua Judges Ruth, and The Road to Ensenada. But 1987’s Pontiac contains the seeds of everything that makes those albums wonderful, and is a brilliant collection in its own right.
Following the pattern of his early albums, Lovett segregates the country and non-country tracks on Pontiac, with the former making up the first half. The classic ‘If I Had a Boat‘ kicks things off beautifully, with ‘L.A. County‘ and today’s SOTD also right in the Texan’s sweet spot.
Side Two brings in the jazz, kicking things off with the hilarious ‘She’s No Lady,’ the swaggering ‘M-O-N-E-Y,’ and the swampy ‘Black and Blue.’
Those three tracks, along with closer ‘She’s Hot to Go,’ inspired charges of misogyny on Lovett’s part, an accusation he addressed (hilariously) by covering ‘Stand By Your Man’ on his next album. Like Randy Newman, Lovett has a gift for embodying flawed characters in his songs, a concept some people just can’t grasp.
No Lyle Lovett post is complete without a mention of the drop-off in his volume and quality following his best album, 1996’s The Road to Ensenada. In the 30 years since, he has released just five albums, one of which included only covers. The other four have their moments, but none approaches the brilliance of his first decade.
Fortunately, a great listen like Pontiac is always a click away.
There’s just too much living going all around
A man has got to see what he can see
I love the road and I love the air
And I don’t worry, hell, I never care
I love my women, sometimes they love me
But I was got one day, I still don’t know how
I didn’t even like that town
This fellow said “Stranger why don’t you just go on home?”
And I said “Man that’s where I’m headed to
And you couldn’t stop me if you knew what to do.”
And I left and I planned to go alone
But the road was long and home was far
So I stopped off at this little cowboy-looking bar
I walked on through the door and she just smiled
In a long pony tail and a pretty white dress
She said “Hi, bull riders do it best.”
I said “Oh my God, what’s your name?
My name’s Lyle.”
And I said ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
Take your boots and walk out of my life
Ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
I can’t be no cowgirl paradise
I looked at her and she looked at me
And I looked back and she looked back
And we went out together for a walk
Her eyes were bright just like the stars
But she drove a pickup said she hated cars
But loved to ride around out after dark
And I said ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
Take your boots and walk out of my life
Ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
I can’t be no cowgirl paradise
I told her redneckness has got to be a disease
You catch it on your fingers and it just crawls right up your sleeves
Ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
I can’t be no cowgirl paradise
Well how she did it I’ll never know
But it’s been maybe 20 years or so
And she cooks the supper and I try to pay the rent
But I’m a traveling man don’t tie me down
There’s just too much living go all around
But I can’t figure out quite where it went
Then I think ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
Take your boots and walk out of my life
Ooh give back my heart chipkicker-redneck woman
I can’t be no cowgirl paradise
