Texas country kingpin Pat Green is also a Fort Worth resident, Dallas restaurant owner and a heck of a live performer. He can now add "Lyle Lovett duet partner" to that list of titles with the release of a new song, "Girls from Texas." Save from his admirable 2012 collection of cover songs, the Texas Tech alum often credited with helping make the Texas Country boom a lot louder in the late 1990's hasn't had new music to show off since 2009's oily slick What I'm For, which was also his last album with BNA Records.
"Girls From Texas," is as charming of a tune as he's released in years and bares little resemblance to much of the music offered up on this recent studio albums. At first blush, the laid-back, front-porch vibe of this ode to the ladies of the Lone Star State actually feels like more of a Lovett original than it does a Green one. We know that Lovett adores singing about Texas women, but, lest we forget, in Green's earlier, pre-major-label days, albums such as George's Bar and Dacehall Dreamer were peppered with original songs that drew from his regional influences ranging from Townes Van Zandt, Bob Wills and, indeed, Lovett himself.
And before we all get angry about yet another song about Texas, listen to the song first and check out the ways that Green and Lovett express their appreciation for women from many of these very attractive United States. Please be warned: these guys aren't digging too terribly deep into the wonderful aspects of a women's soul and intellect on this track -- surely that's in a different song to be released soon. Don't get it twisted, we love the Texas women, just like Pat and Lyle do, but we're especially partial to the dirty-old-man-style line "Minnesota gals sure fill out their sweaters."
The fact is, when Lovett and Green are both on their folk-singing game, they could put a melody to the words of a Smoothie King menu board and make it sound like pure Texas gold.
Either way, it's an encouraging sign, given that this song will be on his long-awaited next album, though a release date for the record hasn't been set for it yet. To own the song outright, you will be able to download it from your standard online retailers beginning on September 16.
