A Large Band and the Hammer of the Gods.

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - It’s Not Big It’s Large (28 Aug 07)
On Easter Sunday 1988 I left a perfectly good job to head north and try my luck in the second Alaskan Gold Rush (i.e., commercial fishing.) It was on that trawler somewhere southeast of Kodiak Island that I first heard Lyle Lovett’s second album, Pontiac. I listened to it non-stop for 5 months. I loved it, but who ever heard of a country musician employing cellos for their compositions? And the very non-country sounding arrangements? Lyle was an enigma, defying conventions.
Ten albums later, not counting soundtracks and compilations, and Lyle hasn’t made it any easier for clerks shelving his discs. Does it go in Country? Jazz? Pop? Who needs a genre?
It’s Not Big It’s Large opens with tight rendition of an old Lester Young tune, Tickle Toe, then scoots right in to the very Bluesy I Will Rise Up, followed by Lyle’s very country thank you note All Downhill From Here and finally, before any stylistic repeats, offers a Folksy dirge, Don’t Cry A Tear. Make It Happy is a funky little ditty with a backing quartet featuring Arnold McCuller (worked a lot with Jackson Browne & Bonnie Raitt among others) and then he rolls right into the gospel laden Ain’t No More Cane. Of the twelve tracks I’d say one is big band Jazz, two are Blues, one is Gospel, one is funky, four are country and three are definitely Folk featuring a finger-picked guitar. I’ve listened to it three times since yesterday and I like it better each time.
I was fortunate enough to see Lyle with his Large Band on the Pier in Seattle a few years back and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be.
By the way, for those looking to apply a label to Lyle’s work, I suggest “big band arrangements of chamber music as approached from a country/bluegrass/folk perspective.” Close enough for ya?

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand (23 Oct 07)
By the sword of Oden, what madness has produced such an unholy union? The lead singer of the most successful heavy rock band of the 70s teamed up with the sweetest, if not the most talented, singer in bluegrass. Is the lamb to lay with the lion? Surely the world has tipped on its axis.
But you know what? It’s amazing! Talk about a perfect blend of two voices, this is it. There’s nothing on here that sounds like Stairway to Heaven from Plant’s earlier efforts or the Grammy winning, Baby, Now That I’ve Found You from Krauss’s back catalog, but both bring what they’ve learned to this session. Only one track was written by Plant & Page et al. (Please Read My Letter) the rest on this T Bone Burnett production are by Tom Waits, The Everly Brothers, Townes van Zandt & Mel Tillis among others. The overall tone is a bit somber and reserved, although Plant manages a few, albeit, softer Hey, Ho’s toward the end of one track. For those of you looking for upbeat pop music to get the party started, this ain’t it. For those of you looking for a CD chock full of excellent recordings by two of the music industry's giants, then look no further.

More to follow…