52. LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND (self-titled)

I think if Texas’ own nerdy country crooner Lyle Lovett would have come up through the ranks over the past few years (as opposed to during the 80’s), he would have been considered alt-country or something similar. This is because his music doesn’t sound “country” to me (in the traditional sense of the word). This 1989 record is case in point. From the opening instrumental ‘The Blues Walk’ (which actually is more jazz than blues) you know this is going to be a different type of album. In fact, it’s not until the 7th track before you not only get a country song, but also a country song title - ‘I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You.’ Following that is, dare I say, a better than the original cover of Tammy Wynette’s ‘Stand By Your Man’ (pronouns unchanged and all). But, the big three for me on this record are the acoustic ballads, ‘Which Way Does That Old Pony Run,’ ‘Nobody Knows Me’ and ‘If You Were to Wake Up.’