Blame the Vain

by Dwight Yoakam

Overview

When Dwight Yoakam burst onto the charts with his first album in 1986, he was the young honky tonk firebrand who set out to remind Nashville of its noble past and celebrate the accomplishments of Bakersfield heroes such as Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. The irony is that nearly 20 years later, Yoakam is in pretty much the same boat as the artists he championed in the 1980s -- he's a respected veteran of the country scene who still has a loyal audience but lost the interest of the major labels and isn't drawing the attention he used to get. But if any of this troubles him, you'd never guess to listen to 2005's Blame the Vain, which is his sharpest and liveliest set in some time. With Yoakam producing himself for a change without the help of longtime studio partner Pete Anderson, Blame the Vain also finds him fronting a new band anchored by guitarist Keith Gattis, and the new blood seems to have done wonders for Yoakam -- while he wasn't exactly in a slump, Blame the Vain boasts a sharper and more energetic approach than his last several efforts, with "Just Passin' Time," "Three Good Reasons," and the title cut revealing that Yoakam is still a honky tonk man supreme. Elsewhere, the whacked-out intro to "She'll Remember" and the ad-libbed final rant on "Intentional Heartache" show Yoakam's firmly in touch with his inner goofball weirdo, the songwriting is both literate and down-home in the manner of his best work, and he sings up a storm from front to back. Two decades into his career, Dwight Yoakam is still the man who is too country for Nashville, and on Blame the Vain he shows he's got too much strength and soul to let anyone hold him down -- this is inspired stuff from a rebel who still has plenty to offer. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/14/2005
Label:	New West
UPC:	0607396607525

Tracks

1. Blame the Vain
2. Lucky That Way
3. Intentional Heartache
4. Does It Show
5. Three Good Reasons
6. Just Passin' Time
7. I'll Pretend
8. She'll Remember
9. I Wanna Love Again
10. When I First Came Here
11. Watch Out
12. The Last Heart in Line

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dwight Yoakam   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background),Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Soloist
Jessica Bolter   Oboe
Phillip Vaiman   Violin
Timothy B. Schmit   Vocals (Background)
Dave Roe   Vocals (Background)
Lee Thornburg   French Horn
Gerry McGee   Soloist,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jim Barth   Strings
David Roe   Vocals (Background)
Gary Ebbins   Handclapping
Al Bonhomme   Guitar (Acoustic)
Eric Gaenslen   Cello
Thomas Diener   Viola
Keith Gattis   Handclapping,Guitar (Electric),Bass
Skip Edwards   Piano,Wurlitzer,Pedal Steel,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Fender Rhodes,Organ (Hammond)
Jonathan Clark   Vocals (Background)
Bobbye Hall   Bongos,Cabasa,Shaker,Cowbell,Percussion,Tambourine
Mitch Marine   Drums,Handclapping
Taras Prodaniuk   Bass

Technical Credits

Michael Dumas   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Dwight Yoakam   Audio Production,Art Direction,Producer,Composer
Shari Sutcliffe   Production Coordination
Randee Saint Nicholas   Photography
Mike Houge   Mixing
Katherine Delaney   Graphic Design
Steve Moore   Engineer
Mary Jurey   Package Coordinator
Skip Edwards   String Arrangements
David Leonard   Mixing
Stephen Marcussen   Mastering