UNDER THE COVERS is a collection of songs originally recorded by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Horton and others. It contains a hidden track, "T For Texas."
Personnel includes: Dwight Yoakam (vocals, acoustic guitar); Sheryl Crow (vocals); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar); Pete Anderson (electric, baritone & 12-string guitars, electric sitar); Tom Brumley (pedal steel, lap steel); Ralph Stanley (banjo, background vocals); Scott Joss (mandolin, fiddle); Tom Peterson, Bruce Eskovitz (flute, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones); Earl Lon Price (tenor saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Lee Thornburg, Chris Tedesco (trumpet); Eric Jorgensen, Nick Lane (trombone); Skip Edwards (Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Charles Domanico (acoustic bass); Taras Prodaniuk (acoustic & electric basses); Jim Christie, Jeff Donovan (drums); Alex Neciosup-Acuna, Tempo (percussion); Ralph Forbes, Dusty Wakeman (drum programming); Tommy Funderburk, Beth Andersen, Anthony Crawford, The Lonesome Strangers (background vocals).
UNDER THE COVERS was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Country Album.
Personnel: Dwight Yoakam (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Sheryl Crow (vocals); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar); Tom Brumley (lap steel guitar); Ralph Stanley (banjo, background vocals); Scott Joss (mandolin, fiddle); Earl Lon Price (tenor saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Lee Thornburg, Chris Tedesco (trumpet); Nick Lane, Eric Jorgensen (trombone); Skip Edwards (organ, keyboards); Chuck Domanico, Taras Prodaniuk (upright bass); Jeff Donovan, Jim Christie (drums); Tempo, Alex Acuña (percussion); Dusty Wakeman, Ralph Forbes (drum programming); Beth Andersen, Jeff Rymes, Randy Weeks, Anthony Crawford, Tommy Funderburk (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: David Leonard; Judy Clapp; Michael Dumas.
Recording information: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; Mad Dog Studios; Ocean Studios.
Photographers: Scott Lightner; Bryan Suckut; Brad Bowman.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Chuck Smith; Stephen Moore; Ross Garfield; Gary White; Chris Rugalo; Brad Bowman; Robert Glicken; Eric Bradley.
Given how easily Dwight Yoakam makes the songs of others his own, including classics like "Sin City" and "Streets of Bakersfield" as well as the Doc Pomus nugget "Little Sister," it's a wonder it took him 11 years to record an album of covers. Yoakam had nothing left to prove as a songwriter, penning hit after hit and album after album of constantly evolving country music that remained true to the honky tonk tradition while stretching it sonically -- without revisionism. Here, Yoakam interprets everyone from Roy Orbison to the Clash to the Beatles to Danny O'Keefe, often radically reworking these genuine enduring classics of popular music to bring out the hidden meanings rather than remake them in his own image, the near bluegrass version of "Train in Vain" being a prime example. The Orbison tune that opens the album, "Claudette," rocks with a country swagger the original never had and feels like more of a celebratory tome to a third party than it does a love song. The Kinks tune "Tired of Waiting for You" is as far from a country song as can be with a full horn section -- and this cut works the least -- and is an oddity but entertaining when heard once. O'Keefe's "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" is less melodic than the writer's version, but it is far more desolate and haunting. The duet on Sonny Bono's "Baby Don't Go" with Sheryl Crow doesn't really work either, because Crow is not a country singer and there's enough countrypolitan in Yoakam's read that the two singers seem cold and at odds with each other. The lush, funky version of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman" may not replace Glen Campbell's, but it is a credible, even fine read with all of its textural embellishments (Pete Anderson, Yoakam's guitarist and producer is a genius), a B-3, layers of guitars, double-timed drums...awesome. "Here Comes the Night," with its ringing electric 12-string guitars and faux Caribbean rhythm is stunningly beautiful, and the Beatles' "Things We Said Today" is a psychedelic country jewel. While this set is not perfect, it's still damn fine and warrants repeated listens to come to grips with Yoakam's visionary ambition. ~ Thom Jurek
Yoakam takes a break from making Nashville safe for sophisticated songcraft, putting down his pen and letting his hair down on this album of songs made famous by other performers. Though many of Yoakam's choices were popularized by artists firmly ensconced in the baby boomer canon (The Beatles' "Things We Said Today," Van Morrison's "Here Comes The Night"); he ventures further afield on a couple of tracks, and the element of surprise works to his advantage.
Yoakam's reworking of the Clash's "Train In Vain" as a bluegrass lament is nothing short of inspired. Elsewhere, he dips deep into the Roger Miller catalog (never a bad idea) and comes up with "Playboy." Star-spotters will be entranced by his duet with Sheryl Crow on the Sonny & Cher chestnut "Baby Don't Go," while hardcore country enthusiasts will be more impressed by the hidden track at disc's end, a loving resurrection of Jimmie Rodgers' "T For Texas." minimize