''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 Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

, and

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

. 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 Willis Alan Ramsey (born 5 March 1951) is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Dallas, Texas. Ramsey graduated from Highland Park High School ...

. # "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 Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...

– guitar *Jay Dee Maness – guitar, pedal steel guitar *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...

– guitar, slide guitar, background vocals *

Johnny Lee Schell Johnny Lee Schell is an American guitarist and songwriter. In the late 1960s, he first recorded with producer Norman Petty in Group Axis. In the 1970s, he joined Amarillo TX southern rock band, Baby. Since his professional debut, he has played wi ...

– electric guitar *Billy Williams – guitar, trombone *Dan Higgins – alto saxophone *

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

– tenor saxophone *Greg Smith – baritone saxophone *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

– tenor saxophone *

Matt Rollings Matt Rollings is a Grammy Award-winning American composer, keyboard player and record producer. Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, Rollings has worked with many artists, not all country. Matt won the 'Best Traditional Pop Voc ...

– piano, Hammond organ *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Dan F ...

– drums *Kevin Dorsey – bass, background vocals *

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...

– bass *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– 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 Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two ...

– background vocals, harmony vocals (track 4) *Arnold McCuller – background vocals *Willis Alan Ramsey – background vocals, harmony vocals *

Francine Reed Francine Reed (born July 11, 1947 in Pembroke Township, Illinois, United States) is an American blues singer, solo artist, and regular singing partner of Lyle Lovett since the 1980s and member of Lovett's Large Band. Reed has also recorded ...

– 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 Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

– mastering *Peter Nash – photography *Michael Wilson – photography *Tim Stedman – art direction, design *Jonas Livingston – art direction

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 1992 albums Lyle Lovett albums Curb Records albums Albums produced by George Massenburg MCA Records albums