Lyle Lovett's career has been marked by a quiet consistency. He started recording in the mid 80's and has more or less released an album every two years and while his sales have never soared into the stratosphere he has several gold records, a devoted following, and some serious respect in the music community. Along the way he's won four Grammy Awards, appeared in numerous movies, and married Julia Roberts (if only for a couple of years). Not a bad ride for the lanky Texan.
Written by Robert Hunter with music by Jerry Garcia, "Friend of the Devil" originally appeared on the 1970 Grateful Dead album American Beauty. It tells the story of a man on the run from the law who makes a deal with the devil and then finds himself on the run from Satan, too. The original Dead version is an uptempo folk tune, and immediately became a fan favorite (and a musicians favorite, too--it's been covered by roughly 20 different artists, including Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Dave Matthews, and the Counting Crows).
Though he wasn't the first (Loggins and Messina were actually the first and most others followed, including the Dead in their live version), Lovett slowed the tempo of "Friend of the Devil" considerably and turned it into a masterpiece. Released in 1991 on the Dead tribute album Deadicated, the liner notes say there's a bass, some drums, and some piano on the song, but I'll be goddamned if I can hear any of them. And that's because Lovett's vocals so overwhelm the ears (the acoustic guitar is plenty noticeable, however) as he sings with a quiet pathos that makes you empathize with the fugitive protagonist as he misses his sweet Anne Marie and fears spending the rest of his life in jail. It's American folk at its finest--a tour de force of the old west and one of its many outlaws, all in a perfect harmony from a wondrous vocal performance by Lovett.
Like the man says, "I set out running but I take my time...."
Enjoy:
Peace,
emaycee
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