The Bottom Line
Pros
- "I Wanna Love Again"
- "Lucky That Way"
- "The Last Heart In Line"
Cons
- "Blame the Vain"
- "Intentional Heartache"
Description
- Produced by Dwight Yoakam for New West Records.
- Contains twelve new songs all written by Yoakam.
- Features Gerry McGee, Taras Prodaniuk, Skip Edwards, Dave Roe, Keith Gattis, and Bobbye Hall.
Guide Review - Dwight Yoakam - Blame the Vain
I have to set one thing straight: I am a Dwight Yoakam fan. I've been anticipating this album for some time. Therefore, it was with some surprise that my first listen didn't transport me to honky-tonk heaven the way Yoakam's last few discs have. So I listened again. And again. Then I let it sit and came back for a fresh listen.Yoakam's changing his style, going a new direction, and that's great. It's grand to hear how much love and joy went into the making of this disc, and it's true you can hear that unabashed euphoria in every track. However, there's a real sense that the new sound hasn't arrived yet. It seems the new band hasn't decided yet what to sound like: Yoakam, the Beatles, Dylan, or maybe the Stones. There are some outstanding tracks, where Dwight's sound shines with his gritty, down-home real country sound. But others leave me wanting, and wondering why.
I freely admit I may be missing something. People whose opinions I respect have said this is a great album, hearkening back to Yoakam's early days. But it just doesn't grab me the way his more cerebral work does, and I wonder if it's because so many of the tracks are what I'd call "radio-friendly." Dwight's been off mainstream radio for so long it's no wonder he'd be trying to court that audience again, and certainly this may win him some new fans. In any case, it's still Dwight, so it's still better than a lot of other stuff out there, so give him a listen. Maybe you'll hear something I didn't.