Dwightyoakamacoustic.net (Justguitar@dogbone) (CD - 2000)

"A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

At first glance, dwightyoakamacoustic.net might look like a simple re-recorded greatest-hits album that's pleasant but unnecessary. However, the spontaneity and depth of these performances should give any Yoakam fan pause before dismissing it out of hand. Other than the fact that it has no discernible connection to the Internet, the album is exactly what the title promises: aside from one electric-guitar overdub, it's nothing but Yoakam and an acoustic guitar the whole way through. This ultra-stripped-down setting gives Yoakam a chance to establish an intimacy of performance that relies simply on the expressiveness of his voice and his ability to fill up space with compelling guitar work. To a certain extent, Yoakam could be handicapped by the familiarity of most of these songs, but revisiting one's back catalog is certainly not without precedent; outlaw country's biggest stars frequently re-recorded old favorites to reflect their changing sounds. Besides, he's generally successful at reinventing this selection of hits and top-notch album tracks for the album's solo format. Without much to concentrate on other than emotive power in Yoakam's voice, the heartbreaking ballads are that much more affecting, culminating in the a cappella, album-closing rendition of the once uptempo "Guitars, Cadillacs." The approach also helps evoke the wide-open spaces of songs like "Bury Me" and "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere." Not everything here is revelatory -- in the end, some songs are merely pleasant -- but overall, dwightyoakamacoustic.net is a left-field success, a testament to the richness of Yoakam's back catalog and his skill as an interpreter. ~ Steve Huey

Inspired by fan reaction to the show-closing solo acoustic portion of his 1999 tour promoting that year's LAST CHANCE FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, this set draws from throughout Dwight Yoakam's career. Powering these stripped-down versions of Yoakam favorites are the singer-songwriter's nuanced vocal style and surprisingly impressive finger picking (with the occasional guitar solo by producer/running buddy Pete Anderson). Thanks to the trademark vibrato and yodeling the Ohio native uses on songs such as the bluesy shuffle of "Nothing's Changed Here" and "This Drinkin' Will Kill Me," it's easy to hear the ghosts of Lefty Frizzell and Johnny Horton hanging over this recording session.

Although Dwight Yoakam is most often associated with the Bakersfield sound, the narrative flow of songs like "Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)," and "Johnson's Love," shows he has just as much in common with Lubbock cousins the likes of Joe Ely and Guy Clark. Tunes such as his hiccuping cover of "Little Sister," and an uptempo arrangement of "Fast As You" that sounds like a Sun Studios outtake, point to the major role rockabilly plays in Yoakam's sound. Perfectly wrapping up Dwight Yoakam's soulful experiment is a chilling a cappella rendition of "Guitars, Cadillacs." minimize