Concertwire.com

Lyle Lovett is one of the all-time great American singer/songwriters and should be recognized as such. His voice is unique, but his antecedents are recognizable. In his work two roads come together, the trail blazed by the great Texas storytellers of whom Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark are the best known, and the crooked highway navigated by sophisticated wise-asses such as Randy Newman and Tom Waits. Lovett’s first gift was to combine these two potent strands of musical DNA into a new genome able to generate songs as brilliant and double-sided as “If I Had A Boat,” “God Will,” “Family Reserve” and “Her First Mistake.” While music should be and is open for interpretation by the listener, Lovett’s new album, IT’S NOT BIG IT’S LARGE, suggests notions of mortality, loss and the fluidity of time. That sounds like heavy-going, but its Lovett’s gift to make the deep thoughts slide down like honey.