This next album is a whole lot
better than seeing this artist live.
Yes, I’m still bitter about the
sound quality at the Dwight Yoakam show earlier this year.
Disc 976 is…If There Was a Way
Artist: Dwight
Yoakam
Year of Release: 1990
What’s up with the Cover? A giant head cover – very traditional!
Here Dwight Yoakam looks back, no doubt wondering if there is a way to light
his entire face instead of just half of it. There is, Dwight! Just adjust the
light source or move your head – either one will work!
How I Came To Know It: Back at Disc 796 I reviewed
a Greatest Hits package of Dwight Yoakam. This got me thinking I might enjoy
hearing his studio albums, so I bought “Buenos Noches From a Lonely Room.” I
was really enjoying that when I saw a deal for Yoakam’s first five CDs
repackaged together for a great price, so I gave away “Buenos Noches..” and the Greatest Hits package and replaced
it with the package deal. “If There Was a Way” was one of those albums.
How It Stacks Up: I now have 7 Dwight Yoakam albums. I like them
all, but “If There Was a Way” is not my favourite and I must reluctantly place
it…last. Hey, someone’s gotta be last.
Ratings: 3 stars
For an
album that ranks last in my Dwight Yoakam collection, “If There Was a Way” is a
pretty solid effort. Its biggest sin is sounding a lot like any other of Dwight’s
first five records, but just not quite as good.
All the
stuff that makes early Dwight Yoakam enjoyable is here. Yoakam’s signature
urban cowboy sound is solidly represented, as is his hurt-infused warble.
Yoakam has one of those immediately recognizable voices that makes every one of
his own songs timeless and every one of his covers seem like an original. It is
a high, twangy voice that nevertheless sounds intrinsically macho. Yoakam’s
voice is like his jeans; a bit stretched and strained, but in all the right
places and sexy as hell.
“If
There Was A Way” is a record that focuses on original content, which is nice,
given what an undue amount of Yoakam’s hype surrounds some well-known covers. Yoakam
is a gifted songwriter and like Emmylou Harris when he picks songs written by
someone else, he has a sixth sense in knowing what works best for him.
After
three straight #1 country records on the U.S. charts, the record took a minor
step back (climbing only to #7) but still spawned six five top twenty singles.
At least according to Wikipedia (which is never wrong). Or is it? Because one
of the singles I remember was “It Takes a
Lot to Rock You” and it isn’t even listed. I don’t love that song but I remember
the video vividly, because it features a lot of scantily clad women dancing about.
That sort of video makes an impression on a man. But I digress…
Back to the
music! This record also features guitar master Pete Anderson, who is a huge
part of Yoakam’s early sound. I didn’t notice Anderson as much on “If There Was
a Way” as I do on some other records (Scott Joss’ fiddle filled some of that
void), but whenever I listened for guitar, there was Pete, faithfully grounding
the song in a mix of honky tonk and class.
While the
record isn’t my favourite, it is solid throughout and has a couple of my
favourite Yoakam songs (“Sad Sad Music”
and “You’re the One”). “You’re the One” in particular is a
clever mix of heartbreak and revenge. As I wrote about it on my review of the
Greatest Hits record, it is “a nasty
break-up song filled with bruised hearts and nasty rejections that are all the
more pathetic because they are clearly coming after the other party’s already
done the damage.” Well said, former me!
“If
There Was a Way” is only 48 minutes long, but at 14 tracks still feels a bit
too long, and the final two songs, “Dangerous
Man” and “Let’s Work Together”
feel tagged on after “You’re The One”
had provided the perfect exit. “Dangerous
Man” is just a bad song and “Let’s
Work Together” has a workin’ man solidarity that is a positive message, but
seems out of place amidst all the preceding broken hearts and emptied bottles.
These
are minor quibbles, however on what is overall a solid record whose biggest
crime is not being quite as good as some of Yoakam’s other records.
Best
tracks: Sad Sad
Music, Turn It on Turn it Up Turn Me Loose, You’re the One
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