The song that starts this set, "Penguins," exemplifies the contradictions that are Lyle Lovett. His voice is something from the country music of the 1950s, before radio smoothed out the rough edges; the arrangement is from the 40s, with its big (sorry, large) band accents; the background singers are straight from the 1960s R&B tradition; and the lyrics are non-sensical 1980s/1990s, that sound good but, really just what does he mean that "Penguins are so sensitive to my needs." The mind boggles, but that's the kind of thing that happens when you start listening to Lyle Lovett, who has made a career of defying expectations and doing things just his own way. The contradictions that make up Lovett's music are exactly what make it fun to listen to, and why I constantly return to it.

This live set is a perfect showcase for Lovett's best songs, allowing him to put the large band touch on tunes that lacked it on their original recording. It also provides a means to show the full range of songs that Lovett has created over the last 20 years, from the introspective "If I Had a Boat" and "Nobody Knows" to the humorous Western swing that is "Sne's No Lady" and "(That's Right) You're Not From Texas," the later of which sounds even better here than on its original recording because of the backing vocals that provide extra swing to the choruses.

The timbre of Lovett's voice makes him sound like he's always on the verge of crying (similar to Bill Clinton's, which may be something of a southern accent for both of the men), and there are some songs which this is perfect for. What is surprising is how much it doesn't get in the way of songs which are not melancholy, I think because he's able to get a gospel feeling in it that is also joyous as it is sad.

The cover of this album, in contrast to his regular recordings, is a series of portraits of the entire touring band where Lovett's photo is no larger than anyone else's, and that's a pure reflection of what's on the CD. That is, the recordings seem to be more of a work of a singular artist, even though they contain other musicians, whereas no amount of studio wizardy, outside of using tape loops, would allow Lovett to provide the same experience on stage without the help of a large number of people. Like Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, Lovett may be the leader of this band, but he knows it wouldn't be the same music without them behind him. Of particular note are the contributions that Francine Reed (especially on "What Do You Do" and "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues") and Sweet Pea Atkinson (on "Church) provide; both had careers before joining with Lovett, but seem to have blossomed as part of Lovett's touring band

I grew up being exposed to Bob Wills by my grandfather and while I enjoyed the horns and the swing, the country twang and "ah-hahs" that Wills used as punctuation to the songs annoyed me. Lovett has all the things I loved about Western Swing with none of those negatives, including incorporating elements of rock and R&B invented after Wills' heyday. "Live in Texas" is as good as this sound gets, made all that much more impressive because it is a record of live performance by a band in its prime.