Top Ten Favorite 1986 Albums: Lyle Lovett (#10)

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Yesterday we had a myLotter celebrate a birthday! @miketagz turned 32, which means he was born in 1986. While he was messing his diapers, I was working in a different kind of manure in 1986 -- working at the post office. I was also enjoying some incredible music that came out in 1986. So, in honor of Mike's birth year I thought I'd count down my ten favorite albums from 1986. I don't expect Mike to like any of these, but still...it's the thought that counts, right? Here's the first album. #10: Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett There was a line in Charlie Daniels' song "The South's Gonna Do It Again" that said, "Elvin Bishop sittin' on a bail of hay / He ain't good lookin' but he sure can play." Yeah, that's Lyle Lovett. Not physically "pretty," he is a very nice man (I've met him twice)...and oh, the music he puts out!! His debut album was released in 1986. It was an instant critical success. Lovett's honest country sounds fit in well with the neo-traditional movement that was going on at the time (1986 albums by Dwight Yoakam and Randy Travis further solidified the movement). He also had a "jazzy" sound that would really come to light on his follow-up album (Pontiac). And lyrically, he was miles ahead of the pack. His sarcasm in places was like a country version of Randy Newman ("Kenny, he's been mixing sound all evening, sometimes I think that boy, he ain't got no ears"), and other places he could lyrically photograph a scene ("unplug them people and send them home"). Lyle still has all of that, and then some. This is the album that got it started for him. Lyle Lovett Recorded by Lyle Lovett Produced by Tony Brown and Lyle Lovett Here's the less-country-than-most-songs-on-the-album "You Can't Resist It":