The unique looks and sounds of Lyle Lovett return to the Golden State Theatre.

In his epic 1993 film Short Cuts, the late, great auteur director Robert Altman cast the sharply dressed, Eraserhead-haired Lyle Lovett as the conflicted baker Andy Bitkower.

It’s one of many reminders that the slinky string bean of a man – who makes his third visit to Monterey Friday – doesn’t embody the archetypal good looks of a Hollywood leading man. Fortunately he doesn’t need them.

It’s his eyes that draw you in. They’re small, deep and close together, revealing a humble and honest soul, scoured like a cowboy’s favorite leather riding saddle. They make you want to listen to whatever he has to say. Bonnie Raitt knows the feeling. She told The New Yorker that when she and Lovett perform together, her knees buckle every time he looks at her.

But despite the earnestness and depth that percolate from beneath Lovett’s brow, eyes don’t earn him any Grammys. That’s where the voice that can calm a herd of anxious cattle and a style that spans country, blues, folk, funk and gospel come in.

Lovett has collaborated with k.d. lang, Al Green, gospel choirs and large swing bands. His interest in exploring every genre of music has spawned 13 very different sounding albums and four Grammys in three genre categories.

His debut, Pontiac, is a straight-up alt-country album, while the follow-up, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, is up-tempo and swings with horns galore. His 1998 Step Inside This House is a double disc of cover tunes by songwriters from Texas who were major influences on his work, including: Townes Van Zandt, Walter Hyatt, Steve Fromholz, Guy Clark, Willis Allen Ramsey and Robert Earl Keen.

In addition to a prolific music career, Lovett has found time to act in more than a dozen films and became a Robert Altman regular, appearing in four of his flicks; Lovett even composed the soundtrack for Altman’s Dr. T and the Women.

It’s easy to see why Lovett and Altman had such a strong connection. Like Altman’s films, Lovett’s songs examine humanity and cherish the smallest idiosyncrasies of life. They’re usually empathetic and sentimental. One of Lovett’s earlier tunes, “This Old Porch,” is a nostalgic expression about the difficulty of leaving loved ones behind. It’s a gentle ballad with Springsteen-quality prose: “And this old porch is like a weathered, gray-haired/ 70 years of Texas.”

Sometimes Lovett’s lyrics are amusingly charming. “The Truck Song” is about his love affair with Ol’ Black, a beat-up pickup truck, and the many years of adventures that surround it.

Originality has driven much of the appeal and staying power of his music. It also guides his fashion: He only wears cowboy boots that are handmade in Austin, Texas.

LYLE LOVETT and His Large Band play 8pm Thursday, Aug. 6, at Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $40-$79. 372-3800.