I Love Everybody |
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Released: September 27, 1994 Peak: 26 US, 54 UK, 40 CN Sales (in millions): 0.5 US Genre: alt-country/Americana |
Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.
All songs written by Lyle Lovett unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 52:41 |
Rating:  4.023 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About the Album: “Lyle Lovett’s 1992 album, Joshua Judges Ruth, was a highly ambitious project for the Texas-born singer/songwriter – perhaps too ambitious, since despite the album’s beautiful surfaces, the results simply weren’t especially absorbing.” AMG “I Love Everybody is a return to Lovett’s early Texas-cowboy-poet style. In fact, it’s a return to those earlier songs” AZ as “Lovett has raided his attic trunk and has found a surprising number of lost treasures.” AZ “While all 18 tracks on the album are previously unreleased, most of them date from the 1980s when he was writing far more high-quality material than anyone was interested in recording.” AZ “For a set of tunes that were apparent leftovers, the writing on I Love Everybody is startlingly strong, from the saucy Hello Grandma and Record Lady to the stark and edgy storytelling of I Think You Know What I Mean and The Fat Girl.” AMG “Skinny Legs kicks things off with a confession of jealousy. If he only had skinny legs, a new Toyota and a cute rear end, the singer laments, he’d have a girlfriend like that boy over there. Lovett’s dry, deadpan drawl falls on the bouncy, catchy melody with enchanting ease, and he refuses to use a single word more than he needs.” AZ While Joshua Judges Ruth had largely discarded some of Lovett’s fun style, Lyle’s “wry humor (They Don’t Like Me), playful surrealism (Penguins) and disturbing frankness (Creeps Like Me)” WK make comebacks here. The latter was originall song was originally intended to be the title song “and it’s hard to decide if one should laugh or frown in disgust while listening to it.” AMG “The lightly swinging arrangements are as simple as the songs.” AZ “Like Joshua Judges Ruth, I Love Everybody is dominated by clean, stripped-down arrangements and transparent production, but the players bring a lot more spirit and swing to these sessions (top honors go to bassist John Leftwich and drummer Russ Kunkel, a superb and soulful acoustic rhythm section).” AMG Kenny Aronoff also appears on drums. Also, “cellist John Hagen is added to five cuts, fiddler Mark O’Connor to six, the Tower of Power Horns to one, a gospel quartet to three, and a choir featuring Rickie Lee Jones and Julia Roberts [his wife at the time] to two others.” AZ “The dynamics bring more drama to the performances rather than weighing them down.” AMG “For the most part it succeeds where Joshua Judges Ruth disappoints, largely because the songs offer enough changeups to keep the listener engaged at all times.” AMG “At least half a dozen songs are slight one-liners which didn’t deserve revival, and they dilute the album’s impact. Nonetheless this is a welcome reward for all those who believe the funny Lyle Lovett is the best Lyle Lovett.” AZ “I Love Everybody is just eccentric enough to be best recommended to folks already familiar with Lovett’s work, but anyone attuned to his sensibility will find plenty to enjoy here – and a little to make you a shade uncomfortable.” AMG |
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First posted 1/12/2010; last updated 5/18/2022. |
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