Platinum Collection in Bloomington, MN

The British division of
Rhino
issues this 19-cut best-of
Dwight Yoakam
on their
Platinum Collection
. It's strangely put together, relying mostly on covers from album tracks during
Yoakam
's long tenure with
Warner
between 1986 and 2003. This is problematic, however, because
is a fine songwriter -- as evidenced by
""Guitars, Cadillacs,""
""These Arms,""
and
""I Sang Dixie,""
all of which are here. It's completely understandable that covers like
""Ring of Fire,""
""Honky Tonk Man,""
his live read of
""Heartaches by the Number,""
""Streets of Bakersfield""
(with
Buck Owens
) and
the Clash
's
""Train in Vain""
are here; what's head-scratchingly puzzling is
's not-particularly-good or distinctive version of
Danny O'Keefe
""Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues,""
the inclusion of
""Playboy""
""North to Alaska.""
It seems there is a real bias on the part of the series compilers -- this set was done by
Gary Wallington
who wrote dodgy (at best) liners for the volume -- for
's readings of
traditional country
songs. What's weird is he's written plenty of them. Stick with the domestic best-ofs, you'll be better served. ~ Thom Jurek