"It's Not Big, It's Large" by Lyle Lovett

Renowned for his idiosyncratic Texan charisma, big band country style (and, yes, the Julia Roberts marriage), Lyle Lovett has always been an effortlessly charming performer. This, his thirteenth album, was recorded live in sessions with the Large Band and finds him world-weary and deliberate—exchanging that smooth humor for a slower, blues-infused record that is rich with reflections on mortality and regret. Keeping the instrumentals sparse, the band creates melodies that are subtle and moving. "Don't Cry a Tear" teases out deliberate guitar chords for a regretful ballad, while each line of "This Traveling Around" is measured with weariness, as Lovett admits, "I'd change my ways, if I knew how else to be." Even on pacier numbers like "Up in Indiana," Lovett's voice carries a certain pained edge. Yet, as he muses, "I've been good, and I've been bad / Mostly I've been bad," on the swaggering "All Downhill from Here," he shows that despite the melancholy, there's
	Published: 2007-08-30 Provider: Artist Direct