Dwight Yoakam’s career was instantly started in 1986 with the release of ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ “Honky Tonk Man” and “Guitars, Cadillacs” were the hit singles that helped to propel him to stardom.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary (Wow, has it been that long? How time flies.) of Yoakam being on the scene, Reprise and Rhino have reissued ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ in a new, expanded edition.
The first release was just plain vanilla, including the 10 tracks that catapulted Yoakam to stardom, including the hits “Honky Tonk Man,” “Guitars, Cadillacs,” and also renditions of “Ring of Fire” and “Heartaches by the Number.” This new Deluxe Edition is vanilla with chocolate syrup and a cherry on top.
On the Deluxe Edition, you get two discs of tasty Yoakam confections. The first ten songs on disc one are labeled the 1981 Demos and were the tracks that earned him a recording contract and led to ‘Guitars, Etc., Etc.’ Tracks 11-20 consist of the ten original tracks from ‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’
Disc two is what fans will be looking forward too. It’s a live recording of his performance at the Roxy in 1986. Only three of the tracks have been released before (“Can’t you Hear me Calling,” “Heartaches by the Number,” “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It”) and that leaves nine tracks that are previously unissued.
The evening at the Roxy is a rocking, raucous evening and sure to please any Dwight Yoakam fans. I preferred the “Ring of Fire” on the live CD, seemed a little faster to me (just a hair). It probably was the infectious spirit of the evening. Good stuff on that live CD. I showed the CD to a Yoakam fan that I know and she was confused at first thinking that it was the original. It wasn’t until she looked at the track listing that she said that it sounded like a great album.
One complaint that I had was that for a deluxe edition it doesn’t have very good packaging. The CDs are in held in a fold out paper cover and I can see them getting scratched up when you take them out (if you’re not careful). For a deluxe edition, I’d expect it to be in a double CD plastic case, but I guess that all CDs are going to go this route to keep costs down. Que sera sera. If you’re a fan, or need a gift for one, do yourself a favor and pick up this reissue.
‘Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.’ (Deluxe Edition) is now available at Amazon . Visit the music database for more information and a complete track listing.
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