''In Others' Words'' is a compilation album, and the second covers album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

. It was released on September 23, 2003 on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

and peaked at number 59 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart.

Recording

Yoakam enjoyed a successful commercial run with Reprise from 1986 to 1993, but by 2000 the hits dried up and he left for Warner Bros. To fulfill his contract, Reprise gathered recordings from various soundtracks and tribute albums from the 1990s to piece together ''In Others’ Words'', a sequel of sorts to Yoakam’s 1997 ''Under the Covers'' LP. “Holding Things Together,” for example, is from the

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

tribute album ''Tulare Dust'', while “Truckin’,” appears on the Grateful Dead project ''Deadicated''. “Cattle Call” can be found on the soundtrack to ''The Horse Whisperer'', while "T For Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1)" previously appeared as a hidden track at the end of ''Under the Covers''. Despite the mixed bag of sources, ''In Others’ Words'' sounds remarkably cohesive as a collection of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

. Yoakam composed the album opener “Borrowed Love” with

Randy Scruggs Randy Lynn Scruggs (August 3, 1953 – April 17, 2018) was an American music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13. He won four Grammy Awards and was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music ...

and his father,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

legend

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...

, who appear on the track.

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

legend

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

is also faithfully represented with “New San Antonio Rose, and

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

’s “Rocky Road Blues” was a number Yoakam and The Babylonian Cowboys rocked up as part their live set in the early days, as can be heard on the 2006 Rhino deluxe edition of ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.'', but this version remains faithful to Monroe’s musical template. Yoakam once said the song was an early example of what could have been a rockabilly cut, or rock and roll. “Rapid City, South Dakota” and "Louisville," the lone new cut, are

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

songs with more acoustic instruments than electric—particularly the ringing dobro and shimmering mandolins on the latter. The album closes with Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train,” but Yoakam and producer

Pete Anderson Pete Anderson (born July 23, 1948) is an American guitarist, music producer, arranger and songwriter. Anderson is most known for his guitar work with, and critically acclaimed production of, country music star Dwight Yoakam from 1984 through 2 ...

rev it up rockabilly style as they did on earlier hits like “ Little Sister” and “ Please, Please Baby.”

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

: “For those fans of Yoakam's who buy his studio records and get frustrated at the sheer number of compilation and soundtrack cuts he has, this might do the trick to satisfy in lieu of a new album.”

Track listing

Chart performance

References

{{Dwight Yoakam 2003 compilation albums Dwight Yoakam compilation albums Reprise Records compilation albums