Pontiac
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Pontiac
- Artist: Lyle Lovett
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1987
- Total Time: 35:07
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album
- Genre: Rock
Review
While Lyle Lovett's self-titled debut album made it clear he was one the most gifted and idiosyncratic talents to emerge in country music in the 1980s, his follow-up, 1987's Pontiac, took the strengths of his first disc and refined them, and the result was a set whose sound and feel more accurately reflected Lovett's musical personality. While much of Pontiac favors the country side of Lovett's musical personality, the bouncy swing of "Give Back My Heart" and the weepy stroll of "Walk Through the Bottomland" have a lighter touch that suits them noticeably better than the stiffer production and arrangements of the first album, while the breezy snap of "L.A. County" serves as a perfect contrast to the tune's violent dénouement. The second half of the album gives Lovett a chance to indulge his fondness for jazz and blues flavors on the cynical "She's No Lady," "M-O-N-E-Y," and "She's Hot to Go," and if Lovett would follow this path with great musical success on his next few albums, he was already traveling in the right direction and the songs and the arrangements are aces. And it's all but impossible to imagine anyone being given a big push by a major label in Nashville who could get away with the fanciful whimsy of "If I Had a Boat" and the stark and unsettling character sketch of "Pontiac" on the same album. If Lyle Lovett left any doubts at all about this man's gifts as a performer and songwriter, Pontiac proved that he had even more tricks up his sleeve than he'd let on first time out, and it's the first of several masterpieces in Lovett's career. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi| Pontevedra París 1912 (2006 Album by Manuel Quiroga & Marta Leman) | |
| Pontiac Moon [Original Soundtrack] (1994 Album by Original Soundtrack) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Pontiac (album)
| Pontiac | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Lyle Lovett | ||||
| Released | 1987 | |||
| Genre | Alternative country, folk, singer-songwriter | |||
| Length | 35:07 | |||
| Label | Curb | |||
| Producer | Tony Brown, Lyle Lovett & Billy Williams | |||
| Lyle Lovett chronology | ||||
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Pontiac is Lyle Lovett's second studio album, released in 1987.
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Contents
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Chart success
Pontiac reached number 12 on Billboard's chart for Top Country Albums, and 117 in the Billboard Hot 200.
Critical acclaim
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[2] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [3] |
| Music Hound | [4] |
| Rolling Stone |  [5] |
| Spin |  [6] |
| Virgin | [7] |
Pontiac was ranked as 201 in the list of the "500 Best Albums of All-Time" by the German edition of Rolling Stone.[8] The album was also cited as one of the top 100 albums of the 1980s by the Italian magazines Il Mucchio Selvaggio [9] and Velvet.[10] The album is also one of 300 listed in the book, 50 Years of Great Recordings[11] and appeared at number 33 the Village Voice's list of top albums for 1988.[12]
Track listing
All songs written by Lyle Lovett
- "If I Had a Boat" – 3:06
- "Give Back My Heart" – 3:00
- "I Loved You Yesterday" – 2:56
- "Walk Through the Bottomland" – 4:11
- "L.A. County" – 3:17
- "She's No Lady" – 3:13
- "M-O-N-E-Y" – 3:15
- "Black and Blue" – 3:58
- "Simple Song" – 3:17
- "Pontiac" – 2:24
- "She's Hot to Go" – 2:30
Personnel
- Tony Brown – Producer
- Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
- Vince Gill – Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocals
- John Hagen – Cello
- Emmylou Harris – Vocals, Background Vocals
- Ray Herndon – Electric Guitar
- Simon Levy – Art Direction
- Lyle Lovett – Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Producer
- Steve Marsh – Saxophone
- Matt McKenzie – Bass
- Glenn Meadows – Mastering
- Edgar Meyer – Bass, Double Bass
- Peter Nash – Photography
- Willie Pevear – Engineer
- Francine Reed – Vocals, Background Vocals
- Matt Rollings – Synthesizer, Piano, DX-7
- J. David Sloan – Vocals, Background Vocals
- Harry Stinson – Drums, Background Vocals
- Steve Tillisch – Engineer, Mixing
- Ron Treat – Engineer
- Billy Williams – Acoustic & Rhythm Guitar, Associate Producer
- Marty Williams – Second Engineer
Chart performance
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 117 |
Notes and sources
- ^ Mark Deming, Allmusic (link)
- ^ Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide (link)
- ^ Lewis, Randy (17 January 1988). "Lyle Lovett Rides Again". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1988-01-17/entertainment/ca-36453_1_lyle-lovett. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- ^ Music Hound, USA, 1988-89 (4 "bones", scale 0-5)
- ^ Rolling Stone Album Guide, USA, 1992, 2004
- ^ Spin's Book of Alternative Albums, USA, 1995
- ^ Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, UK, 2002
- ^ "The 500 Best Albums of All Time", Rolling Stone (Germany), 2004 (link)
- ^ Il Mucchio Selvaggio, 2002 (according to acclaimedmusic.net link)
- ^ Velvet, 1990 (according to rocklistmusic.co.uk (link)
- ^ 50 Years of Great Recordings, Thunder Bay Press, November 9, 2005
- ^ see villagevoice.com (link)
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