Lyle Lovett – 鈥楻elease Me’
For his 11th and final album with Curb Records after a nearly 30-year relationship, Lyle Lovett delivers up an entertainingly delicious dish of covers that accentuates the singer-songwriter’s charm and wit. The Houston-area native claims only two writing credits of the 14 songs contained on “Release Me” with the naughty “The Girl with the Holiday Smile” and the tender ballad “Night’s Lullaby,” featuring Nickel Creek’s Sara and Sean Watkins.
The four-time Grammy award winner once again shows his musical versatility by performing arrangements covering slices of gospel, pop, country, blues and jazz.
Lovett opens with a spirited rendition of the bluegrass instrumental “Garfield’s Blackberry Blossom,” and then eases into the title track with k.d. lang joining Lovett on the heartbreaking country classic.
Jazz singer Kat Edmonson and Lovett perform a finely flirtatious version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” while bluesman Arnold McCuller lends a hand on the soulful “White Boy Lost in the Blues” penned by Michael Franks.
Other standouts include the R&B fused “Isn’t That So” and a show-stopping version of “White Freightliner Blues” written by the late Townes Van Zandt. The album fittingly closes with the solemnly beautiful Martin Luther hymn “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word.”
With “Release Me,” Lovett bids a final and fitting farewell to his old record label while remaining steadfast to a career that has been an endearing remnant of pure Americana.