Joshua Judges Ruth is Lyle Lovett's fourth album, released in 1992.

Joshua Judges Ruth
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 31, 1992
Genre
Length57:15
LabelCurb/MCA
ProducerBilly Williams, George Massenburg, Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett chronology
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
(1989)
Joshua Judges Ruth
(1992)
I Love Everybody
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[5]

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

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All songs by Lyle Lovett, except "North Dakota" by Lyle Lovett and Willis Alan Ramsey.

  1. "I've Been To Memphis" - 4:56
  2. "Church" - 6:01
  3. "She's Already Made Up Her Mind" - 4:48
  4. "North Dakota" - 5:42
  5. "You've Been So Good Up To Now" - 4:15
  6. "All My Love Is Gone" - 4:23
  7. "Since The Last Time" - 7:11
  8. "Baltimore" - 4:53
  9. "Family Reserve" - 3:59
  10. "She's Leaving Me Because She Really Wants To" - 4:07
  11. "Flyswatter/Ice Water Blues (Monte Trenckmann's Blues)" - 3:44
  12. "She Makes Me Feel Good" - 3:34

Personnel

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Production notes

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  • 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

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Chart (1992) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Top Albums 49
New Zealand Albums Chart 23
US Billboard 200 57

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Lyle Lovett : Joshua Judges Ruth (Curb/MCA)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Ew.com. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  5. ^ Sandow, Greg (1995). "Lyle Lovett". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 229–230. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.