Come on Christmas (CD - 1997)

Personnel: Dwight Yoakam (vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar, autoharp); Pete Anderson (acoustic & electric guitars); Marty Rifkin (dobro); Scott Joss (mandolin, fiddle); Beverly Dahlke-Smith (flute, tenor saxophone, clarinet); Skip Edwards (accordion, piano, organ, keyboards); Greg Smith (alto & baritone saxophones); Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone); Freebo (tuba); Taras Prodaniuk (bass); Jim Christie (drums); Ricky Skaggs, Jim Lauderdale, Tommy Funderburk, Beth Andersen (background vocals).

Personnel: Dwight Yoakam (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, autoharp); Pete Anderson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Eddy Shaver (electric guitar); Marty Rifkin (dobro); Scott Joss (mandolin, fiddle); Brantley Kearns (fiddle); Beverly Dahlke-Smith (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone); Skip Edwards (accordion, piano, organ, keyboards); Greg "Frosty" Smith (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Lee Thornburg (trumpet, trombone); Freebo (tuba); Davey Crockett, Jim Christie (drums); Beth Andersen, Jim Lauderdale, Ricky Skaggs, Tommy Funderburk (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Judy Clapp.

Recording information: Mad Dog Studios, Burbank, CA.

Photographers: Scott Lightner; Bryan Suckut; Brad Bowman.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Ross Garfield; Steve Moore .

Arranger: Pete Anderson.

If there must be Christmas albums, and it appears that there must, they may as well be like this one. While Yoakam uses his impressive post-George Jones warble to fine effect on these seasonal ditties, he doesn't take himself too seriously. The ubiquitous "The Christmas Song" is presented here in a campy faux-swing version, of which the song's author, Mel Torme would be proud. "Here Comes Santa Claus" is another bow to the Cocktail Nation, with a loungey rhumba arrangement.

It's not all high spirits, though. The title tune turns out to be a heart-breakingly beautiful torch song easily the equal of anything on Yoakam's "straight" albums. With this batch of yuletide tunes following closely on the heels of UNDER THE COVERS, Yoakam's album of covers, 1997 turned out to be a lean year for fans of Yoakam's songwriting. However, for the faithful, any Dwight is better than none at all. minimize