Natural Forces

by

Lyle Lovett

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Whew!

There are many artists I used to listen to early on in their career and in the course of time lost interest. They may have changed too much, they may have changed too little, they may have started to appeal to the masses and I have started to turn away in a stupid "but I knew them back when..."-attitude. Whatever the reason, it happened with John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, R.E.M., Big Country to name but a few, and yes, it also happened to me with Lyle Lovett. The first album of his I bought was Pontiac and I fell in love with "If I Had a Boat", "Walk Through the Bottomland" and "L.A. County". I stopped buying his CDs after "Step Inside This House", still gave them a listen but then decided to spend my money on Son Volt, Todd Snider or Ryan Bingham.

Until "Natural Forces" that is: "Natural Forces" is good ol' Lyle and still fresh and new that I'm looking forward to the first time I put this in my CD changer in the car next spring and roll down the window driving along the country roads. It's not as good as "Pontiac" but it comes damn close. Try the title song, the stompin' "Pantry", the plaintive "Empty Blue Shoes" or the Townes cover "Loretta" and you'll see what I mean.

I own every album that Lyle Lovett has ever made, and I waited anxiously for this new release. Unfortunately, it's not his best work. There are still the ballads in his unique voice that grace every album, but they're not HIS songs. He's used other songwriters for some songs (not a problem on his "Step Inside This House" album) but on "Natural Fores" the choices seem a bit thin on emotional stirrings. Lyle is an amazing songwriter, and I prefer his touching words to almost anyone's. That being said.....the songs he did write on this album are ridiculously childish! Normally every album has a "quirky" or "fun" song or two, but they always tell a great story, albeit in a light-hearted way. The goofy songs he chose to put on this album are just...dumb. "Keep It In Your Pantry" is repetitive and nonsensical (though the acoustic version is the better of the two versions). "Farmer Brown", while a nice reel, is not my choice for labeling a "good Lyle Lovett song".

That being said, there is still his wonderful voice and style, and "Empty Blue Shoes" is up there with his best work. "It's Rock And Roll" was a great rockin' treat. This album earned 3 stars because it's Lyle Freakin' Lovett, and he's awesome. Not his best, but he's still better than almost anyone out there, so I'll purchase everything he puts up for sale!