Dwight Yoakam: A Long Way Home

The past few years have found country maverick Dwight Yoakam busy doing just about everything but making music. His acting career was jump-started with his acclaimed turn in Slingblade, and some of the highest praise attributed to The Newton Boys was aimed at Yoakam. He's also got a couple of screenplays in the works. Sure, he's recently released an album of covers and a nifty Christmas collection, and he sang on two recent releases by bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, but 1995's undervalued Gone was Yoakam's last album of original material. A Long Way Home finds him again working with guitarist Pete Anderson, only this time, all the songs are written solely by Yoakam. It's not a return to his Buck Owens-inspired roots, as the title may imply, but A Long Way Home is a relative step back from the experimentation of Gone. Still, there are enough quirky subtleties to ensure his continued residence on Nashville's outer bounds. The opening track, "Same Fool," features a jaunty beat that's far from the mushy rock 'n' roll of mainstream country, while "I'll Just Take These" seamlessly tosses a string section into a subtle arrangement. "These Arms" and "That's OK" are two great bits of Bakersfield country, and "The Curse" and "Listen" feature some fine twang-guitar courtesy of Anderson. "Maybe You Like It, Maybe You Don't," which shares its words with "Only Want You More," is another manifestation of Yoakam's appreciaton of Elvis, right down to the mumbled "thankyouverymuch." Yoakam's voice is again in fine form, and his lyrics, though not nearly as dark as those in 1988's classic Buenos Noches From A Lonely Room (Yoakam hopes to one day make the title track into a movie), aren't the usual beer/truck/girl fluff. (Well, at least not the beer and trucks.) All in all, it's another great record from Ohio's most famous cowboy, and a welcome return by an unpredictable maverick.