Lyle Workman is an American guitarist, composer, session and touring musician, and music producer. His music has been widely distributed since his debut on the eponymous Bourgeois Tagg album in 1986, and is known for his work as composer and bandleader for the Superbad soundtrack.
As composer
Workman is credited as composer for the films Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Good Boys,The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Stand Up Guys, Win Win, Get Him to the Greek, Yes Man, Knocked Up, Overboard, Bad Santa 2, American Reunion, 21 & Over, The Goods, The Interview, Good Boys, and the Jon Favreau films Made and Chef. His work on the Superbad soundtrack has earned critical acclaim. He has contributed on guitar and other instruments on several other soundtracks. For TV, he has written the music for the Judd Apatow produced shows Love , and Crashing . Other shows include The Bold Type, Sun Records , and Good Girls
Collaborations
In 1992-1993 Workman was recruited to play guitar on Jellyfish's critically acclaimed second album Spilt Milk. Workman is also known to Todd Rundgren fans as the lead guitarist on Rundgren's albums Nearly Human and 2nd Wind and the ensuing tours. Beck's live audiences saw Workman perform as the lead guitarist on Beck's Midnight Vultures tours from 1999 to 2001, and Workman toured with Sting on 2006's Broken Music Tour, and performed with him at Live 8. Lyle Workman is also known for collaborating with Chad Fischer, the frontman of the American alternative rock bandLazlo Bane. Workman has co-written with Fischer two songs, "Buttercup" and "View From The Pavement", and played guitar on the band's debut album 11 Transistor. Later, Workman collaborated with Fischer again, co-writing and performing the song "Miserable Life" for the film Little Manhattan. He has also worked extensively with Frank Black recording and touring, appearing on the records Teenager of the Year, The Cult of Ray, Frank Black and The Catholics, Oddballs and is credited with "arranged by" credit on several songs on 2006's Fast Man Raider Man. Lyle has worked as a studio musician in Los Angeles on many rock and pop albums with artists Sting, Michael Buble, Sarah McLachlan, Ziggy Marley, Norah Jones, Bryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Shakira, and They Might Be Giants, to name a few. As a producer, Workman is credited on Dutch singer 'Ilse DeLange's record Incredible which, in the Netherlands, featured several number-one singles and multi-platinum sales. Workman produced DeLange's record "Next To Me" released in September 2010.
Solo work
Workman released his first instrumental "solo" album, Purple Passages, in 1996, and was well reviewed among musicians with XTC's Dave Gregory calling Workman "a musician of consummate skill, creativity and taste". His second solo album, Tabula Rasa, has also received rave reviews. "Harmonic Crusader" was released in 2009.
Bourgeois Tagg
In 1987, Bourgeois Tagg recorded the record "Yoyo" with esteemed producer Todd Rundgren. When it was released in the autumn of that year, the band had what would prove to be their biggest hit with its first single "I Don't Mind at All," written by Workman and band co-founder Brent Bourgeois, which peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100. A shimmering, melancholy ballad of resignation, the song's catchy melody, offbeat rhythm, and dramatic use of strings has been said to be reminiscent of classic Beatles songs such as "Yesterday" and especially "Across the Universe." Although the single just briefly made the Top 40 in the United States, it was a Top Five hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, and a major hit worldwide. Its success was fueled by an innovative video directed by David Fincher that received heavy airplay on MTV and other music video outlets.
