South of Heaven, West of Hell (CD - 2001)

Personnel: Dwight Yoakam (vocals, acoustic guitar, dobro); Pete Anderson (acoustic, electric & baritone guitars, banjo, mandolin, piano, percussion); Tim Goodwin (classical guitar); Gary Morse (pedal & lap steel guitars); Chris Bleth (violin, bass clarinet, oboe); Scott Joss (fiddle); John Acosta (cello); David Woodford (saxophone); Lee Thornberg (trumpet, trombone); John Noreyko (tuba); Skip Edwards (keyboards); Taras Prodaniuk (bass); Jim Christie (drums); Bekka Bramlett, Jonathan Clark (background vocals).

Recorded at The Dog Bone, Burbank, California.

Personnel: Dwight Yoakam (vocals, acoustic guitar, dobro); Pete Anderson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, percussion); Gary Morse (lap steel guitar); Tim Goodwin (classical guitar); Chris Bleth (violin, bass clarinet, oboe); Scott Joss (fiddle); John Acosta (cello); David Woodford (saxophone); Lee Thornberg (trumpet, trombone); John Noreyko (tuba); Skip Edwards (keyboards); Jim Christie (drums); Jonathan Clark, Bekka Bramlett (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Judy Clapp.

Recording information: The Dog Bone, Burbank, CA.

Arranger: Pete Anderson.

Dwight Yoakam's soundtrack for the gritty Western South of Heaven, West of Hell will only partially satisfy his fans. Although the album is nearly an hour long, half of the tracks are spoken segments from the film, and while this tactic has worked well for Quentin Tarantino's pop culture-brimming soundtracks, South of Heaven only serves to lose the listener with its ill-placed breaks and uninteresting dialogue. Aside from that rather major flaw, there are a handful of really good Yoakam tunes on hand including the loose, ambling opening track "Words" and a soulful version of "The Darkest Hour." The album also features a duet with Bekka Bramlett (Bekka & Billy), as well as the bluesy "The First Thing Smokin'" co-written with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and the pleading "What's Left of Me" co-written with Mick Jagger. While the album certainly has its strong points, it is no substitute for a complete Dwight Yoakam record. With the film release of South of Heaven, West of Hell, Yoakam has proven himself to be a fine actor and a fair director, but there are legions of country fans who will be happier when he steps out from behind the camera and back into the studio. ~ Zac Johnson

The end of 2001 found Kentucky-born Renaissance man releasing SOUTH OF HEAVEN WEST OF HELL, the companion soundtrack to the movie of the same name that he directed, co-wrote and starred in. Interspersed among the sprinkled in snippets of film dialogue are a number of songs that rank among the lanky musician/actor's best work. The dexterous multi-instrumental talents of longtime collaborator Pete allows this neo-traditional country star a chance to flex his musical muscle. Yoakam pours himself into the classic honky-tonker "What's Left Of Me" (co-written with Mick Jagger), struts through the rollicking "The First Thing Smokin' (co-written by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons) and gets sanctified on the traditional gospel standard "It Is Well With My Soul."

Other notable cuts include "Somewhere," a robust number that sounds like a musical meeting between Buck Owens and Phil Spector, the lusty Bekka Bramlett duet "Who At The Door Is Standing" and "The Darkest Hour," the soundtrack's other traditional spiritual. Honorable mention also goes to trumpet player Lee Thornberg, who makes like Chet Baker on "Words," a Yoakam -penned instrumental that nicely fits in with the rest of the album despite sounding more appropriate for an after-hours jazz club than a saloon. minimize