Dwight Yoakam- Brighter Days
Label: Thirty Tigers
Producer: Dwight Yoakam
It’s been a long recording slumber for living country legend, Dwight Yoakam. While the iconic troubadour has remained a reliable draw on the road, it’s been nearly a decade since his last release of original music. This absence, compounded with the much-deserved escalation of chatter regarding his Hall of Fame induction destiny, has made it clear that the love for the rebellious Yoakam remains strong, but has also left many wondering if his legacy as a recording artist was completed. Enter Brighter Days, his rewarding twenty-first studio release, which serves to not only solidify his HOF bona-fides, but also loudly proclaims that Yoakam is as vital a recording artist as he’s ever been. Since the last time we heard from him, the legend surprisingly ended his life-long bachelor status, becoming a husband and, at the tender age of sixty-four, a father for the first time. It’d be unrealistic not to expect these significant personal life-events to inform the content of this record. While that may have long-time die-hards quivering over the impact that domestic bliss might have on the notorious rock & roll spirit of his music, it’s important to remember that Dwight Yoakam’s catalog has never been just one thing. It’s alway been an abundant melting pot of sounds, influences, and subject matter, and Brighter Days is no exception to this rule. Sonically, the project does noticeably seek out brighter pastures, by way of a sunny and melodic flow boasting a plethora of sun-kissed California harmonies and a blend of both Heartland Rock and sixties pop sounds. With that said, Yoakam’s signature Bakersfield, honky-tonk, and country-rock calling cards are offered in equal supply as well. This liberating, wide-open blend allows the legend to easily navigate between turbo-charged rockers (“Wide Open Heart”, “Bound Away”), heart-wrenching country devastation (“I Pay the Price”, “Hand Me Down Heart”), sardonic California country-rock (“California Sky”, the Chris Hillman cover “Time Between”, “A Dream That Never Ends”), and vintage cowpunk (“Can’t Be Wrong”, which seriously sounds like it could have been culled from Guitars, Cadilliacs-era live set.). The much-talked about lead single and Post Malone feature (“I Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)”) is also a meaty highlight that earns every ounce of its buzz-worthy hype. Posty unquestionably holds his own, and his reverence for Yoakam is clearly authentic, but this should not be mistaken for a case of a younger superstar propping up an aging hero. Dwight is inarguably leading the way here, and the resulting duet feels like a vintage showstopper that could have appeared on any of his classic records with Pete Anderson from the late 80s and early 90s. It’s quirky, funny, country to the bone, and spoils the listener with fiery musical excellence. As for those heartwarming moments of domestic bliss we mentioned earlier, they do ultimately prove to be, cliched as it may be, the heart and connective fabric of the record. Songs like the title track and “I Spell Love” tap into the charms and joys that love and fatherhood have brought the once bawdy superstar, and its here where those gorgeous little nuances in Yoakam’s one-of-a-kind voice really get to shine. His ability to marry these familial tones with the rest of his signature repertoire is another example of his special talent and skill as an artist, and this is best exemplified by his jubilant cover of The Carter Family’s “Keep on the Sunny Side”. It opens with deliciously a cappella, familial bluegrass harmonies before giving way to an amped up country-rock explosion that only Yoakam could pull off so stylishly, nodding its hat to his early covers of classics like “Ring of Fire” and “Always Late With Your Kisses”. It’s joyously evident that Yoakam is living–and thriving–as he practices the Carters’ timeless philosophy. Finally, what’s perhaps even more impressive than Dwight Yoakam’s ability to marry all of these new life experiences into his classic artistic scope is just how damn good his voice itself sounds. His singing remains as full-bodied, richly twangy, and effortlessly swaggering as it was decades ago. There is still nothing in modern music that’s quite as commanding or devastatingly piercing as the Kentucky moan of Dwight Yoakam. The man has clearly taken pristine care of his greatest weapon as he nears his seventies. May this be only the beginning of another burst of renewed creativity for this maverick artist. Oh, and put the man in the damn Hall of Fame already, y’all!
Track Listing:
- “Wide Open Heart” (Dwight Yoakam, Jeffrey Steele, Bob DiPiero, Shane Minor)
- “I’ll Pay the Price” (Yoakam, Steele)
- “Bound Away” (Yoakam, Gregory Brown, Vincent DeFiori, John McCrea, Christopher Nelson)
- “California Sky” (Yoakam, Steele)
- “Can’t Be Wrong” (Yoakam)
- “I Spell Love” (Yoakam, Steele, DiPiero)
- “A Dream That Never Ends” (Yoakam, Joyce)
- “Brighter Days” (Yoakam)
- “I Don’t Know to Say Goodbye” (Bang Bang Boom Boom) featuring Post Malone (Yoakam)
- “If Only” (Yoakam)
- “Hand Me Down Heart” (Yoakam, Steele, DiPiero, Minor)
- “Time Between” (Chris Hillman)
- “Keep On the Sunny Side” (Traditional)
- “Every Night” (Yoakam)
The 706 