"Blame the Vain"could very well go down as the quintessential Dwight. Raw, edgy, less refined in parts than his previous releases? Indeed it is. But it is still a slick piece of work that hints, in one cut or another, at almost every influence Yoakam has ever embraced. From the ranting within "Intentional Heartache" and "She'll Remember" to the moving "Last Heart in Line" Yoakam covers the myriad of emotions involved in tumultuous relationships. The move to the stripped down arrangements on many of the songs does nothing but accentuate the power of Yoakam's true instrument, his voice. Throughout the entire lineup of songs Dwight Yoakam takes unexpected turns. Risky? Perhaps, but well worth the risk. This should prove to the naysayers (if there are ANY left out there) that Yoakam's "This Time" was no fluke. It proves Yoakam can put out a winner even working without the long time safety net of Pete Anderson's guitar and production skills. With "Just Passing Time" Dwight reminds us how skilled he is with painting lyrical pictures. "Blame the Vain" as a whole should prove to any who have ever doubted him, that Yoakam is the real deal. The guitar work thoughout by Texas native Keith Gattis, an artist in his own right, helps give this Dwight Yoakam project an entirely new sound. Still, the foundations of early Yoakam are indeed there and show themselves frequently. But the overall sound is a sound which the Yoakam / Gattis duo has honed to near perfection in the last couple of years of performing together during Yoakam's last stint on the road. What you have here is just that, near perfection. With all the cuts written and produced by the man himself, what you hear on this record is probably the closest to what Yoakam hears in his head, when he first sets out to write a song, as you're ever going to get.

In a time when sugarcoated country-pop fluff rules the charts, any new release from Mr. Dwight Yoakam is always a welcome breath of fresh air. Without a doubt, he's the ultimate country rebel. With his restless creativity, undeniable intelligence, and talent that isn't just limited to the music industry (he's highly acclaimed in the movie world too), this Kentucky-born cowboy has had an amazing career thus far. After nearly 20 years as an artist, Dwight has proven in spades that he'd rather make music by his own unique standards than follow the industry's rules and trends, and he's made it abundantly clear that he's not going to sell his soul to commercial Nashville any time soon. No matter if you love him or hate him, you have to admit that's pretty admirable.

Blame the Vain, Yoakam's 18th studio album, marks many first milestones in the icon's career. Most notably, it's his first attempt at producing after almost two decades with his ex-producer/guitarist Pete Anderson. Yoakam does a very nice job indeed, proving to us once and for all that he's the major driving force behind his success, although that's not to say that Pete was not a monumental aspect of Dwight's music. Taking Anderson's place as lead guitarist is Keith Gattis, a talented Texan who may not be the same kind of guitar virtuoso that Anderson is, but he's extremely gifted nonetheless.

It may be a bold claim, but I truly believe that the songwriting showcased on Blame the Vain just might be some of the best material Yoakam's ever written. With all twelve tracks penned solely by Dwight, I think he digs deeper into complex human emotions than he ever has before in terms of his lyrics. Even just reading the words written inside the CD booklet provokes more sheer emotion than listening to anything that's played regularly on commercial country radio ever could. The first verse of the title track (and also the opening lines of the album) is extremely intriguing: "I'll blame the vain for what we wear/And I'll blame the blind when we can't see/I'll blame it all on someone else/'Til there's nobody left... then I'll just blame me." Just reading that gives off a feeling of total denial that will most certainly result in lonliness and emptiness. Deep stuff and definately not a bad way to kick off the album. Elsewhere, on the weeper "Does It Show", Dwight really shows off his unsurpassed lyrical abilities. I especially like how he's able to paint a sad, detailed picture using contrasting images of light and dark: "Does it show/With each flickering memory's final glow/As night's cold shadows wrap around where hope let go/And I sit there in the dark/Does it show?" Just amazing, amazing lyrics. I can't praise his talent as a songwriter enough!

But what really brings these sad tales of love gone wrong to life is Dwight's unique and expressive voice. In my opinion, Dwight's voice only gets better with age. The older he gets, the more you're able to notice the powerful yet subtle nuances embedded in his rich, sweet voice. On slower ballads such as "Lucky That Way", "Does It Show", "Just Passin' Time", and "The Last Heart in Line", his voice posesses such believable earnesty and uninhibited emotion that he really makes you feel his hoplessness and pain. On the other hand, with the rockin', fast-paced tunes like "Intentional Heartache", "Three Good Reasons", and "Watch Out", his voice has a biting authenticity that just keeps you hanging on his every word.

Favorites here include "Watch Out", which has to be the most bipolar song I've ever heard in my life. It goes from being a straight up hard-hitting rocker to being a depressing, tearstained weeper before you even know what hit you... and then it morphs suddenly back into its rockin' self. If any of Dwight's songs could be considered a 'one-fingered salute' to watered-down pop-country music, this is the one. "She'll Remember" is also great because it's different from any other song I've ever heard Dwight sing. At first, I wasn't a fan of the intro that includes lots of synthesizer and Dwight (sporting a fake British accent) telling a story about a lover walking out on him. But after I saw what an energized and fun intro it was to his live shows, I was instantly turned into a believer. The song itself is a little bit of honkytonk mixed with some unexpected British-style rock and some great guitar work by Mr. Gattis. A surprising combo, but this one really works. I adore "Three Good Reasons" for it's hip, Elvis-inspired rockabilly swagger and attitude, plus the clever wordplay that only Yoakam could pull off. As far as the ballads contained on this album go, "Does It Show" is probably my favorite. I like the delicate piano solo followed by a calm but resonating guitar solo, and his voice simply amazes me on this one.

I also have to mention how much I like Blame the Vain's album art in and of itself. It definately tells a story all on its own. The pictures of Dwight and model Donna Feldman are somewhat provocative, yet they have an almost eerie, stark beauty to them. By looking over the photos, it's obvious that the two are an item, but Dwight seems to be annoyed by her, almost indifferent to her (probably due to her apparent preoccupation with herself), while it seems that she's only with him for material purposes. Although it's open for personal interpretation, the message I got from it is that vanity gets you nowhere in life, as the picture of her lying seemingly dead on a bed in a messy, run-down hotel room while Dwight looms emotionlessly over her lifeless body would suggest. Very dark.

Blame the Vain is an amazing collection of 12 original Yoakam gems. I adore every track on this album and I seriously urge any country music fan to buy it. It's definately the best album I've heard so far in 2005. One can only hope that this is the beginning of a great run with New West Records, as they deserve endless praise for promoting him much better than Reprise or Audium did and actually listening to the fans. Dwight truly did a great job on this album!

I didn't even know Pete left. I was reading the CD notes and was like "where the heck is Pete in all this?". Always thought he was

absolutely a key part of the whole DY experience - I will never forget when I saw DY at Roseland in NYC about ten years ago. This was right about when "Gone" came out, and the band was as good as the singer : - )

Having said all that, the absence of Pete is honestly not a bad thing. (Sorry, Pete, I still love you man!)The new guitar dude sounds great - maybe one small notch below Pete (Pete knew how to play, you have to give the man that much) - but very, very competent indeed.

Dwight does sound like he's alive and having fun on this one - noticeably more so than a couple other CD's I have of his. And I've been a loyal fan since Guitars, Cadillacs, mind you. Some of the stuff on this CD is as good as his old, early stuff and that is saying a lot.

Buy this one for sure - well worth the money. This is what REALLY good country music sounds like!

Dwight Yoakam is why I started to listening to country music, way back in the early 1990's. Someone stuck 'Streets of Bakersfield' on a mix tape filled with the Damned, X, Ramones, and others; and it was over. I liked Dwight then for the same reasons I like Dwight now: he comes right up and does what he needs to do. He wears that big hat, he sings through his nose, he turns the guitar up, he makes you sway and wish you could dance. When he's at his best there isn't another artist like him in any genre.

Now this is one (heck) of an album. He's still got his hat on and he still makes this music sound good and fresh. There's been a lot of good country music rattling around my house this year and we've had this one in heavy rotation. I'd say that this is the best release I've heard this year - though some Rhonda Vincent's come close. Dwight serves up good straight ahead tunes here and Dwight takes those chances like we expect him to, and that's what it's all about... right?

I do have to mention one last thing. It's been clear to me for a while that Dwight is, well, just a little bit of goofball. OK, a lot of a goofball. I mean that in the best possible way, mind you. So when you're listening to the first minute of "She'll Remember" and thinking WTF, just remember this is just Dwight just being Dwight.

And that's all right, since he's better at being Dwight than anyone else could be.

Dwight seems to lay low in Nashville as the trends blow past him in record sales and on the charts. The difference between Dwight and bigger artist like Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, even the Musik Mafia, is Dwight thinks about his music it seems. All songs are well crafted, plus his voice is the greatest voice in country since Hank Williams Sr. This album may not feature Pete Anderson on guitar and producing, but I really cant see the difference between this cd and his classic cds like If there was a way, This Time, A long way home and my personal faviorte, Gone. Dwight cds are always a pleasure to listen to, from track one till the last. You dont listen to his current single, then decide the cd is not worth it. Dwight is the real deal, and the best thing in country. The reviews who says the producing is bad, should listen to the cd again. The cd sounds really good, and all the instruments are well played. The songs may have been all done before, but what you expect? Everything in music has been done and nothing is really new. Intentional Heartache and She'll Remember are really good because they are different from what Dwight's done before, and people seem to ridicule the songs because of it. Get over it, whatever Dwight sings or does is good. Better then anything in country for the past 20 years, hell he is the best thing in country music for the past twenty years. He needs to start getting credit for his music, instead of being push aside for flavors of the moment.