Follow Dwight Yoakam
“In another time and place,” sings Dwight Yoakam on the buoyant “In Another World,” the opening track on Second Hand Heart, the brilliant new album that takes the pioneering honky-tonker back to Warner Bros./Reprise, where he began his major-label recording career thirty years ago. Yoakam’s distinctive, supple vocals, accented with his Kentucky croon, sound as strong today as they did on his debut, 1985’s Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. Its release immediately yielded hit singles, and over the course of some 21 albums – totaling more than 25 million in sales worldwide – Yoakam has continued to passionately sing, write, and play music brimming with hard country and rock & roll. Second Hand Heart was self-produced by Yoakam, and reflects where he’s been, but even more so, where he’s going: “’In Another World’ guided the rest of the album,” says Yoakam. “It became its statement – about surviving and hope.”
“When you’re around Dwight, you get this sense of urgency,” explains Warner Bros. VP of A&R Lenny Waronker, executive producer of Second Hand Heart. “He’s like somebody who’s just starting his career – almost like this is his first record. He’s on ‘rewind’ in a way. There’s a certain kind of energy, power, that makes it sound so youthful. It’s very unique. A lot of it goes back to his main strengths: his vocal, which is unchanged, and his songwriting. Plus, the power of the guitar playing and the power of the songs add up to a really wonderful record.”
