Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 04/29/2008
Run Time: 48:03
If There Was a Way from 1990 is the first full display of
Dwight Yoakam's doppelgänger on record. From the mid-tempo
honky tonk of
"The Distance Between You and Me" and the classic
Bakersfield balladry of
"The Heart That You Own" to the balls-out live 21st century
rockabilly "It Takes a Lot to Rock You Baby," Yoakam shows his fragmented musical personality that somehow remains inside the framework of his own brand of
country. Fans of the old heroes such as
Ernest Tubb,
Merle Haggard,
George Jones,
Buck Owens,
Hank Thompson,
Loretta Lynn, and so on dig
Yoakam because he knows how to write and sing a good old
country song. The kids and
pop audiences love him because he seems to speak to them as much with his swagger as his electricity -- guitarist
Pete Anderson is like
Don Rich, only from the
rock side of the
country music fence.
"Nothing's Changed Here," written by
Yoakam and master songwriter
Kostas, is a nod to
Tubb in that it refers to the master's
"Walkin' the Floor Over You" in
"Nothing's Changed Here," a barroom stroller with a gorgeous fiddle solo by
Don Reed and a splendid use of reverb by
Anderson.
"Since I Started Drinkin' Again" is a
bluegrass sh*tkicker, but it is one hell of a self-destructive broken-heart song that features some awesome fiddlework by
Scott Joss and mandolin and backing vocals by
Tim O'Brien. The bluesy, doo-woppy,
Doc Pomus-inspired
rock balladry of the title track is another move toward the margins for
Yoakam -- especially with the shimmering B-3 work by
Skip Edwards.
"It Only Hurts Me When I Cry," Yoakam's co-write with
Roger Miller, who sings backing vocals on the track, is another rocker à la early
Conway Twitty. Ultimately the duet with
Patty Loveless on
Kostas and
Kathy Louvin's
"Send a Message to My Heart" is a wrought and deeply moving love song.
Loveless is the best of her generation. Not even
Martina McBride with all her emotion and range can match the soul in the grain of her voice, nor does anyone possess as pure a
country voice with the exception of
Emmylou Harris perhaps. The bravest moment on the record is also its most fun. The closer is a truly hillbilly deluxe version of
Wilbert Harrison's anthem
"Let's Work Together." Anderson tears this mother up, raw and wooly, and
Yoakam proves himself as fine a
R&B singer as he is a
country crooner. Here again the
rock side of
country, the
soul side of
rock, and the
country side of
soul are all wrapped here in
Yokam's voice backed by a band who have a complete understanding of the tune. Highly recommended.
~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
;)
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