Dwight Yoakam Hillbilly Deluxe (1987)

From mykindofcountry.wordpress.com

Released in July 1987, Dwight Yoakam’s sophomore effort built upon the success of the previous year’s Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. Like its predecessor, it reached the top spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, though it failed to produce any Top 5 singles and ultimately didn’t sell quite as well. Pete Anderson was back on board as producer. Yoakam was the sole songwriter for seven of the album’s tracks; the remaining three tracks were covers of well-known country and rock songs.

Overall, the album has a more rockabilly feel than its hardcore honky-tonk predecessor. This was immediately apparent with the release of the lead single, “Little Sister”, which had been a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for Elvis Presley in 1961. Yoakam’s version reached #7 on the country singles chart. The next release, the self-penned “Little Ways” had a more Bakersfield sound, while “Please, Please Baby” was also in a rockabilly vein. These tracks peaked at #8 and #6 respectively and allow the listener to hear a side of Yoakam that hadn’t been as apparent on his debut album.

Based on the first three singles, one might think that Hillbilly Deluxe is a rockabilly-dominated album, but it is, in fact, a quite diverse and eclectic set of songs. Dwight takes a detour into more traditional territory for the album’s fourth and final single, a polished cover of Lefty Frizzell’s “Always Late With Your Kisses”, a #9 hit that is one of my favorite tracks on the album despite the slightly intrusive background vocals which make the record sound a bit dated to modern ears.

The rest of the album is more traditional. “Smoke Along The Track” is a cover of a 1959 Stonewall Jackson hit, and “Readin’, Rightin’, Route 23”, another Yoakam original composition seems reminiscent of Merle Haggard’s early records. Less polished are the fiddle-driven “Throughout All Time” and “This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me”. Both tracks were too rootsy to be considered for release as radio singles; the latter track was a remake of one of Dwight’s unreleased recordings that helped him secure his deal with Warner Bros. The original version, probably recorded at the same time as the tracks that were on the original Guitars, Cadillacs EP, can be heard on the expanded 20th anniversary re-release of Guitar, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. which was released by Rhino Records in 2006.

My favorite track on the album is “Johnson’s Love”, a beautiful, understated ballad about, what else — a broken heart. It’s somewhat similar in theme to “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, but unlike in that classic recording, the protagonist in Yoakam’s song continues to pine after his lost love even after his own death.

Mr. Johnson’s love lives on. Enjoyable as this album is, I don’t like it quite as much as Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc, though Dwight deserves a pat on the back for making a deliberate and conscious effort to make a record that is different from the first one, instead of opting for the easier, play-it-safe route, which might have scored him some bigger hits at radio. Today’s artists would be well advised to take note.