This month Stuart Ryan examines the ‘new country’ style of a talented and hugely verstile guitar picker, songsmith and singer from the Lonestar State.
Four-time Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett was born in Houston, Texas on November 1st, 1957. Lovett actually came to prominence in the UK in the early 1990s, sadly more for his marriage to film star Julia Roberts than his music. Lovett started his career on the Texas folk scene and by 1986 he had signed a deal with MCA records. While known primarily as a country singer, listen to any of his albums and you will hear a fantastic, diverse range of styles – there is western swing, jazz, bluegrass, gospel and much more. He is also a great guitarist, adept at creating parts to accompany his vocals with a solid, fingerpicking style often featuring a capo high up the neck, which gives his guitars a bright, rich sound. He often uses a thumbpick but other times it’s the bare flesh of the thumb for a warmer sound.
While Lyle’s guitar parts are often relaxed, listen to him accompany himself on a track like Cowboy Man and you’ll hear him in turbo-charged Chet Atkins Travis picking mode. Indeed, he often uses the thumbpick as you would a plectrum so when playing this month’s piece try using a thumbpick then a bare thumb to get a sense of the tonal difference. Lyle also loves interesting chord inversions so check out some of the voicings in this piece which are drawn straight from his style.
NEXT MONTH Stuart checks out the fabulous playing of Aussie country star, Keith Urban
Get the Tone
Lovett has had a longstanding association with Collings guitars and bought his first Collings in 1979 – you’ll typically see him with some variation of the Collings D (dreadnought model, as pictured). A larger body size is great for this style as it gives you the depth to fill out a track or accompany a solo vocal. Use the above setting if using an acoustic amp.
TRACK REC
