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Written by Nichole Wagner
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 DAVID LUTES
Big Top
Blueroot Music
(Release Date: 3/10/09)
Clocking in at just barely over an hour, it seems at first glance that Plumtucker frontman David Lutes' latest release should have been a single disc release. But, like the ringmaster at the circus, Lutes separates the different performances on the two-disc Big Top allowing each to take a moment in the spotlight.
The two discs each have a distinct vibe without feeling completely disjointed. Volume One contains a more traditional folk sound. The tracks are filled with lap steel guitar and fiddle. Moving from haunting (the opener "Lucia's Song") to roots rock ("Love in the Hard Times"), Lutes meticulously weaves melodies together. Betty Soo's harmony vocals soar throughout "You Belong (In Pearls Tonight)" like a graceful trapeze artist.
The second volume can be equated to the lion-tamer act. It's flashy and dangerous, with room for the occasional flare of the unexpected. Diving head-first through syncopated pop ("Ginny On Fire" and "We Love Me") before landing into the net of "Fine Line," Lutes' voice is continuously smooth like an amalgamation of Lindsey Buckingham and Lyle Lovett.
Recently nominated for "Male Vocalist of the Year" and "Song of the Year" at the 2009 Texas Music Awards, the Dallas-born and raised Lutes made a wise choice in forsaking a career as a lawyer for a more tuneful path. And though an accomplished multi-instrumentalist himself, Lutes is joined by a talented cast of supporting musicians that includes Lloyd Maines, Dony Wynn, Brady Muckleroy, and Kullen Fuchs.
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