Blending Blues, Be-Bop, Folk, and Country

On his newest release, Joshua Judges Ruth, singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett deals with death, relationships, and dinner (with side references to fly swatters and the dangers of peanut butter and jelly). While this might seem like an unusual range of subjects, it is emblematic of Lovett's style: lyrics about everyday life and music rooted in traditional forms brought together in distinctly original ways.

Lovett has been known as a country artist. He won a Male Country Vocal Grammy a couple of years ago and his previous albums were recorded in Nashville. This, his fourth album, was recorded in Los Angeles and marks an official switch to his label's pop division.

It's true that there's only one dyed-in-the-wool-pedal-steel-cry-in-your-beer song here, "She's Leaving Me Because She Wants To" (with country diva Emmylou Harris singing backup). But Lovett never was a standard-issue country artist; his work has blended blues, be-bop, folk, and country since his first album. Joshua Judges Ruth continues this eclectic mix, moving easily from rollicking gospel shouts to subtly nuanced ballads.

One of Lovett's lyrical hallmarks is a gift for painting scenes of life's little ironies and big tragedies (and vice versa) with a wry - some would say twisted - sense of humor. For example, "Church," an exuberant, surreal song about a preacher who won't stop preaching, layers gospel harmonies and piano with lyrics describing a congregation that gets so hungry that a rebellion starts in the choir loft and the spirit moves in odd ways.

LOVETT IS A MASTER OF the sly switch of phrase, especially when singing about the realm of love, sex, and romance. Songs such as "I've Been To Memphis" and "She Makes Me Feel Good" bop along with good-time keyboard and guitar licks and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. But Lovett also creates poignant ballads about relationships.

On "North Dakota" he sings to a departed love, "The words that you have told me/Hang frozen in the air/And sometimes I look right through them/As if they were not there." And while he has in the past been more apt to write about love lost than love sustained, "Fly Swatter/Ice Water Blues (Monty Trenckmann's Blues)" sketches a few gentle moments in a long-term couple's day.

The most striking section of Joshua Judges Ruth, however, is the cluster of three songs about death: "Since The Last Time," "Baltimore," and "Family Reserve." Although death is certainly a standby in traditional music (blues, bluegrass, folk), it is not the most common popular music topic, at least in such concentration.

The novelty of these songs first drew me to them. My attention was held because they truly are fine songs.

While the songs are linked by subject matter and Lovett's eye for the simultaneous fragility and toughness of human bonds, each one is written in an radically different musical style and with an equally varied mix of humor and pathos. "Since The Last Time" is a energetic blues-gospel-jazz blend that succinctly describes the nervous behavior of people at a funeral and the ambiguous feelings about death that belief in an afterlife doesn't assuage: "You took him from the last time/To that hallowed ground/I'm praying take me to the next time Lord/So I can hang around."

"Baltimore" is a stark deathbed ballad, sparely accompanied by acoustic guitar, piano, and cello. "Family Reserve" is an ode to Lovett's family and friends who have died, ending with a sing-along chorus in tribute to those ties that bind: "I feel them watching/And I see them laughing/And I hear them singing along/We're all gonna be here forever."

Lovett is backed by members of his Large Band and guest artists that include Rickie Lee Jones, guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke, singers Sweet Pea Atkinson and Harry Bowens of Was (Not Was), and singer/songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey. The various musicians come together in a tight ensemble throughout the album, which is co-produced by George Massenburg (who is noted for his work with Linda Ronstadt and Little Feat).

Joshua Judges Ruth confirms Lovett as one of the finest and most unique players in American music. It also is an intelligent tribute to the absurd mix of the trivial and the profound that is life. 'Least the way Lovett sees it.

Julie Polter is associate editor of Sojourners.

Joshua Judges Ruth. By Lyle Lovett. Released by Curb/MCA Records Inc. 1992.