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"this Time"

"this Time" image
Parent Issue
Month
May
Year
1993
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
Rights Held By
Agenda Publications
OCR Text

Country music is hot right now. Country albums are selling in huge numbers. Fifteen of 38 country artists listed on a recent Billboard chart had million-plus sellers. Another indication of the resurgence in popularity of country music is Fan Fair. This annual country music festival, held in Nashville, has been sold out in advance for two years in a row. At the Fair, fans get to meet country artists such as Loretta Lynn and Dolly Pardon, and country-pop superstars like Garth Brooks, for pictures and autographs.

It is in this context that country artist Dwight Yoakam's latest release sees the light of day. "This Time" has all the earmarks of a classic country-pop album. There are lost-love songs ("Pocket of a Clown") and drinking songs ("Two Doors Down") which appeal to pure country fans, all screaming to be played on a honky-tonk jukebox. There are also beautiful pop melodies coupled with a pop production sound ("Ain't That Lonely Yet") which will surely appeal to a more pop audience.

With "This Time," Reprise Records is aiming to make Yoakam even bigger than Garth Brooks - no easy feat given that Brooks has sold over 27 million records. Yoakam is surely getting a boost in that direction with the daily airplay his music video "Ain't That Lonely Yet" is getting on VH-1, as well as the play his music is being given on pop radio stations. Given the strength of Yoakam's songwriting (he wrote or co-wrote ten of the 11 songs on the album) and his cool country twang reminiscent of Hank Williams, Yoakam is most capable of filling Brooks' boots.

Yoakam's sound has always set his music apart from artists who record in Nashville. Although he uses standard country instrumentation - pedal steel guitar, dobro, and fiddle - the balance, reverberation, and mix of the vocals and ensemble usually sound more pop than country. 'This Time" is a continuation of this type of production. Yoakam may well indeed be the next county-pop superstar. 'This Time" is an exceptional recording. 

-Tom Rule

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