How do you pick the best Lyle Lovett album? Do you go for the melancholy and jazzy strains of Pontiac? The big band meets country of the Large Band album? Perhaps the sad and beautiful Joshua Judges Ruth? All would be albums most artists would kill to call a career best. But Lyle? He beats them all with The Road to Ensenada.

He has quirky, laid-back and humorous moments in songs like Don't Touch My Hat (a Texan answer to Elvis' Blue Suede Shoes) and Long Tall Texan, which pairs him again with Randy Newman in a gently humorous cowboy song (you'll of course remember You've Got a Friend in Me which the two sang together). The western swing of That's Right, You're Not From Texas is so infectious that you simply can't help singing along. The best of these is Her First Mistake, with it's marvelous wordplay and off-beat rythm. If you're not sure what people mean by country cool you'll have no question after hearing Lyle's delivery on that one.

But while his wry and humorous songs can always be counted on, it's with the songs that dig deeper into human emotion that Lovett excels. Listen to the loneliness of the narrator in Christmas Morning: :Lesser songwriters might have included some vitriol or nastiness to flesh out this song of a lonely man ignored by the world. Lovett manages it with quiet resignation, answering people's empty "have a nice days" with "Hey, what could they mean by that, perhaps I'm the fool they take me for, not anything more."

The title track reaches a similar level of sadness, and the hidden bonus track crosses between the humorous, the lonely and the hopeful for a beautiful finish to a perfect album. The Lyle-curious should start here. The Lyle-faithful surely already play this one on a regular basis.

As with all reviews, this only reflects my personal taste, so many listeners of "The Road to Ensenada" would likely disagree. In my humble opinion, Lovett's strongest and most powerful work appears in his more serious songs, like "It Ought to be Easier" and the title track. Although songs such as "Don't Touch My Hat" are fun at first, their novelty eventually wears off. Of course, some of these cute tracks are Lyle Lovett classics, including "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)," and as a Texan myself, I feel quite guilty for not enjoying these songs as much as I should. Anyway, my complaints are minor-this is an incredible CD, and I highly recommend it to people just beginning their Lyle Lovett album collection. There are few artists who defy genre as convincingly as Lovett.

I saw Lyle on a PBS special with Willie Nelson and a couple of other country music giants doing acoustic stuff together, performing some solo stuff as well as collaborating on each others stuff. Lyle blew me away with his humor and easy, natural manner and vocal timing. So I ran out and bought The Road to Ensenada and became a fan. My friends said, "What?". I said , "Just listen". They said, "Wow!". There are 12 very strong songs on this CD. That's 12 of 12 folks. Lyle Lovett is one fine storyteller. Don't Touch My Hat had me howling, Her First Mistake kept me going, Fiona is brilliant, and The Road To Ensenada is beautiful. The rest are each great in their own unique way. Don't even try to put a label on this stuff because to call it "country" would be misleading and "rock" it is not. "Folk"? Who knows...but a great piece of work it is.

Rare is the artist who is difficult, if not impossible, to categorize. One moment country down to his boots, the next a smooth crooner with incredible wit who draws comparison to a modern-day Frank Sinatra...in a strange way.

Lyle is the consumate musician and he surrounds himself with nothing but the best (if not better) supporting musicians. This is particularly evidenced on his Live in Texas album (which I highly recommend), but for his best album start to finish, look no further than this beauty.

Songs that make you laugh, cry and just scratch your head in amazement at how he manages to survey a chapter of the human condition and then put every nuance into a 4 minute song....man, this guy is simply amazing.

What I like most about this album is that it touches upon so many genres. Rock, country, folk, pop...put them all in a blender and you have Road to Ensenada.

With too many great songs to list individually, I highly recommend that everyone out there picks this album up. You won't be disappointed.

ebhp

Many people are reluctant to listen to Lyle Lovett because he is catagorized as a "country" singer. That's a shame. Lovett transcends any genre with his masterful songwriting and storytelling, and "The Road to Ensenada" is his best work.

This collection of songs demonstrates his amazing breadth. How many people could create both heartwrenching ballads like "The Girl in the Corner" and total feel-good ditties like "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)" and equally amaze you with both? And -- perhaps even more impressively -- Lovett writes perfect mid-tempo songs, the hardest type of all to do well. "It Ought To Be Easier" and "Private Conversation" are just two examples. Regardless of the musical style, all of these songs feature Lovett's wonderful lyrics. His descriptions of people, ideas, events and emotions are pithy and spot-on. Too often, songwriters are called poets, but the moniker fits Lovett perfectly.