Customer Reviews

Road To Ensenada

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my 2nd favorite Lyle Lovett album, after Pontiac, because it shows his self-reflective humor in songs like, "Her First Mistake." It also has music that draws you in effortlessly, such as "Fiona" and "Private Conversation." This album made me truly happy he and Julia Roberts split up so he could get back to making good music. My only criticism is that "That's Right (you're not from Texas)" is over-produced and, when he performed it on "Austin City Limits" it was acoustic with crowd participation (and Willie Nelson participation) that made it sublime.

If you don't own a Lyle cd, this is the one to buy. Lyle's music has many influences. His earlier cd's have fused pop, jazz and country in a delightful blend of acoustic treats. His Large Band is tight, as tight as they come. The Road to Ensenda is toe tapping good from beginning to end. This particular recording is less jazz influenced than say, Pontiac but the jazz influences are not ignored. This is simply a great cd.

It's one of those things that has become immutable over time. This album captures so many moods - while Lyle and the band certainly know how to have a good time, the pauses for reflection are what tips the scales for me. It is certainly among my Top 10 favorite albums of all time as it has a melancholy quality that transcends just about anything I've ever heard. The uptempo numbers sure do swing and I can't help but smile when I hear them, but everything leads up to the last two tracks - The Road to Ensenada and the gorgeous "Girl in the Corner". With the exception of Bruce Cockburn, no other songwriter captures the longing one can experience in the smallest encounters. This is soul music and music for the soul and I would be less for its absence. Thank you Lyle.

If you wonder why Lyle Lovett has a cult of totally devoted fans, you haven't heard this album. Lyle has a gift for telling stories with vivid images and quirky twists, all set to music that will move you. "The Road to Ensenada" is the best (so far) of the bunch. The songs are witty and funny, touching and sad, and always interesting. Not a note is wrong.

Now, it may be that Lyle knows this. Perhaps that's why he hasn't released an album of new material since this one in 1996. How do you follow up perfection? Since "The Road to Ensenada" we've had a double disc of songs by other Texas songwriters, a live album, a greatest hits album and a collection of songs Lyle has contributed to movie soundtracks. All of them are excellent but, hey, where are the new songs?

If you're a new Lyle fan, you definitely need to add "The Road to Ensenada" to your collection. This is one of just a few CDs that always travel with me, and it is Lyle at his best. And to anyone who doesn't get it, I'll just say, "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)." ;o)

I have this best friend named Dawn. I bought her this album for Christmas because I wanted it for myself. She likes Lyle but understood right away that this was a gift to me through her. It lives in permanent rotation in my CD player in my car. Dawn and I go out all the time and as soon as she gets in the car she hunts down this CD and blasts "One Eyed Fiona." The whole album is a treat - but "One-Eyed" is a great song. It's a treat of an album by this great man with a great band. Buy it, put it in your car CD and next time your best friend hops in, blast this album.

What an awesome disc. Lyle outdoes himself with this effort. I got this in 2001 while I was going through a divorce and many of the songs just spoke to me. This disc stays in my car player about 80% of the time.

This would be a good first disc for anyone who is vaguely interested in Lyle's work.

I had a friend in college, many moons ago, that was a big Lyle Lovett fan. Except for 1 song (I don't even remember the title), I couldn't say I really liked him.

One day in a bookstore, you know the type that lets you listen before you buy, I happened upon this CD. I'd moved away from Texas just a few years prior, and when I heard snippets of "Long Tall Texan" and "Don't Touch My Hat", I cracked up. I bought the CD on the spot. As of today (about 5 years later), it's still on my list of top 10 CD's. If I were stranded on a desert island, I'd definitely want this with me!

How do you pick the best Lyle Lovett album? Do you go for the melancholy and jazzy strains of Pontiac? The big band meets country of the Large Band album? Perhaps the sad and beautiful Joshua Judges Ruth? All would be albums most artists would kill to call a career best. But Lyle? He beats them all with The Road to Ensenada.

He has quirky, laid-back and humorous moments in songs like Don't Touch My Hat (a Texan answer to Elvis' Blue Suede Shoes) and Long Tall Texan, which pairs him again with Randy Newman in a gently humorous cowboy song (you'll of course remember You've Got a Friend in Me which the two sang together). The western swing of That's Right, You're Not From Texas is so infectious that you simply can't help singing along. The best of these is Her First Mistake, with it's marvelous wordplay and off-beat rythm. If you're not sure what people mean by country cool you'll have no question after hearing Lyle's delivery on that one.

But while his wry and humorous songs can always be counted on, it's with the songs that dig deeper into human emotion that Lovett excels. Listen to the loneliness of the narrator in Christmas Morning: :Lesser songwriters might have included some vitriol or nastiness to flesh out this song of a lonely man ignored by the world. Lovett manages it with quiet resignation, answering people's empty "have a nice days" with "Hey, what could they mean by that, perhaps I'm the fool they take me for, not anything more."

The title track reaches a similar level of sadness, and the hidden bonus track crosses between the humorous, the lonely and the hopeful for a beautiful finish to a perfect album. The Lyle-curious should start here. The Lyle-faithful surely already play this one on a regular basis.

I'd never listened to Lyle Lovett before he married Julia Roberts. But I'm certainly grateful that event piqued my interest! I've been a loyal fan ever since, and this particular album was composed mostly during their marriage. The sweetness and joy of those two lovebirds is very much reflected on this marvel of a CD! Keen Julia fans will pick up on many inside references in the song "Fiona" (which just happens to be her middle name). Anyone else recall her saying of their marriage that it was as if he'd put a "voodoo curse" on her? :-) (The line "her brother, he's crazy/ he just might bite you"... brilliant perfection!) Not to mention the lovely bonus track "Girl in the Corner" (it makes direct reference to their circle of friends Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, etc... even Julia's sister Lisa). Lyle has such a witty and wonderful way with words in his songwriting. I couldn't possibly recommend an album more strongly.

This is probably one of my favorite cds. I love "Her First Mistake" because of the line "a girl who made me think so fast I left my thoughts behind". The cd is a wonderful mix of styles and there is something in it for everyone. My favorite songs in it are probably "Promises" which is haunting and "The Road to Ensenada". You must listen to this cd. Lyle Lovett is simply wonderfully and if you love country you must listen to this cd. Lovett doesn't sing quasi-pop 3 minute love songs. He has a bit more depth than that.