On his first release in seven years, the Bakersfield sound and the aching in Dwight Yoakam’s voice are both still the same.
The formula works and with a dozen albums mining that same vein, there is no reason to head down and look for more gold elsewhere. Yoakam took the road out of Nashville years ago when they thought his music did not fit and built himself a home where his style of country worked best and his career blasted off.
Yoakam proves that at 57, he can still rock and roll with a bar room busting cover of “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke” a short way into the disc. The rave up displays the vocal talents and signature yelp of Yoakam but also the pedal steel playing of Brian Whelan.
As a matter of fact, Whelan seems to be a bit of a whiz within Yoakam’s band and plays about eight different instruments on this record. “It’s Never Alright” is a classic tear-jerker with arrangements for strings and horns that make this more similar to George Jones, than most songs Yoakam has done in his catalogue.
Yoakam is no slacker when it comes to collaborating with Beck Hansen, co-producing “A Heart Like Mine” and “Missing Heart”. The first being an up-tempo country rock number with Hansen adding handclaps and the ache of “Missing Heart” showcases the vocals and acoustic guitar of Yoakam.
The majority of the songwriting is by Yoakam, Kid Rock lent a pen with composing “Take Hold Of My Hand” and the two closing tracks are superb covers.
3 Pears is a welcome return and should be guaranteed to take to the charts.
