Joshua Judges Ruth is Lyle Lovett's fourth album, released in 1992.
While the album does not have one theme that binds all the songs, several tracks deal with "high concepts" such as religion ("Church") and death ("Family Reserve" & "Since The Last Time").The album's title is a pun made up of the names of three books that appear sequentially in the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, and Ruth.
In keeping with Lovett's other releases, Joshua received critical acclaim but failed to vault the singer into mainstream success. First single "You've Been So Good Up To Now" was a minor hit on rock radio, peaking at #36 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Track listing All songs by Lyle Lovett, except "North Dakota" by Lyle Lovett and Willis Alan Ramsey. "I've Been To Memphis" - 4:56 "Church" - 6:01 "She's Already Made Up Her Mind" - 4:48 "North Dakota" - 5:42 "You've Been So Good Up To Now" - 4:15 "All My Love Is Gone" - 4:23 "Since The Last Time" - 7:11 "Baltimore" - 4:53 "Family Reserve" - 3:59 "She's Leaving Me Because She Really Wants To" - 4:07 "Flyswatter/Ice Water Blues (Monte Trenckmann's Blues)" - 3:44 "She Makes Me Feel Good" - 3:34
Personnel Lyle Lovett – vocals, guitar Ray Herndon – guitar Leo Kottke – guitar Jay Dee Maness – guitar, pedal steel guitar Dean Parks – guitar, slide guitar, background vocals Johnny Lee Schell – electric guitar Billy Williams – guitar, trombone Dan Higgins – alto saxophone Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone Greg Smith – baritone saxophone Larry Williams – tenor saxophone Matt Rollings – piano, Hammond organ Russ Kunkel – drums Kevin Dorsey – bass, background vocals Edgar Meyer – bass Leland Sklar – bass John Hagen – cello Sweet Pea Atkinson – background vocals Sir Harry Bowens – background vocals Emmylou Harris – background vocals, harmony vocals (track 10) Kathy Hazzard – background vocals Rickie Lee Jones – background vocals, harmony vocals (track 4) Arnold McCuller – background vocals Willis Alan Ramsey – background vocals, harmony vocals Francine Reed – background vocals (tracks 2, 7, & 9)
Production notes Produced by Lyle Lovett, George Massenburg and Billy Williams Ivy Skoff – production coordination George Massenburg – engineer, mixing Nathaniel Kunkel – engineer Gil Morales – engineer Noel Hazel – engineer Marnie Riley – engineer Steve Holroyd – engineer Ron Lewter – mastering Alan Yoshida – mastering Doug Sax – mastering Peter Nash – photography Michael Wilson – photography Tim Stedman – art direction, design Jonas Livingston – art direction
Chart performance Chart (1992) Peakposition Canadian RPM Top Albums 49 New Zealand Albums Chart 23 US Billboard 200 57
References