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

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

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

. 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 Enya, Michael ...

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 advertise ...

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 a ...

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 country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

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'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

. 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 usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

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-fin ...

, who appear on the track.

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

legend

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing 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 S ...

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

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" 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 take ...

’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, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack 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 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 2002, a partnership th ...

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

Please, Please Baby "Please, Please Baby" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. It was released in November 1987 as the third single from his album '' Hillbilly Deluxe''. It peaked at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country ...

.”

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

: “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