Only two Lyle Lovett originals appear here: the seasonal "The Girl with the Holiday Smile" and the piano-and-violin tune "Night's Lullaby" with Nickel Creek's Sara and Sean Watkins providing glorious harmonies. Lovett’s too much of a perfectionist to allow a tune he doesn't wholeheartedly believe in to make it to a record. Here, he searched through his favorites and came up with the country classic "Release Me," working it into a duet with k.d. lang. Frank Loesser's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is given a sympathetic vocal turn with Austin musician Kat Edmonson playing Lovett's foil. "Dress of Laces" was once performed by Nanci Griffith with Lovett on harmony, so here Lovett enlists Sara Watkins to fulfill the song's chilling melody. Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is slowed to a western lope, with the electric guitar offering the feeling that the townspeople are watching very carefully. Lovett skirts many styles here, but he's at his best when he fingerpicks a ballad; "Understand You" is a tune that doesn't allow a dry eye in the house.