Dwight Yoakam - Hillbilly Deluxe (Remastered) (1987/2015) '1987/2015

Tracks list

Tracklist
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01. Little Ways
02. Smoke Along The Track
03. Johnsons Love
04. Please, Please Baby
05. Readin, Rightin, Rt. 23
06. Always Late With Your Kisses
07. 1000 Miles
08. Throughout All Time
09. Little Sister
10. This Drinkin Will Kill Me

Hillbilly Deluxe is proof that beyond a shadow of a doubt, Dwight Yoakams
Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. was no fluke. Theres no sophomore slump here, and
while Hillbilly Deluxe may be seen as an extension of his debut, repetition
taint necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be heard and viewed as Yoakam and
producer/guitarist Pete Anderson cementing the commitment to Bakersfield-styled
honky tonk music. Yoakams voice is a dead cross of Merle Haggards early voice
and Lefty Frizzells -- a fine cover of the latters Always Late (With Your
Kisses) is included here - and as such, it is one of the purest, most soulful
voices in this era. But as displayed on his debut, Yoakam is one hell of a
songwriter as well. Cuts like Little Ways, the albums first single, Readin,
Rightin, Rt. 23, and the amazing Throughout All Time, with its dancing fiddles
and lapsteel guitars entwined with Andersons lead, are worthy of serious
consideration as among the finest country songs written in the preceding five
years. An added bonus is a killer version of Doc Pomus classic Little Sister
that rivals Elvis Presleys - yeah, thats right - and blows Ry Cooders tepid
cover of it away. The only other cover here is the classic Smoke Along the Track
by Alan Rose and Don Helms, and in true hardcore troubadour fashion, Yoakam
makes it his own, swinging it in the best Johnny Cash and Tennessee Three
fashion rhythmically and with Haggards winsome railroad vocal that he took from
Jimmie Rodgers. While there can be no doubt about Yoakams hillbilly roots in
Kentucky, this disc is deluxe in virtually every way.

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