In this 1988 Austin City Limits program, Dwight Yoakam, almost 32 years old, was approaching his commercial peak. His third album, ‘Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room’, had just been released and brought him his only number one country singles ‘Streets of Bakersfield’ (recorded here in duet with Buck Owens along with Flaco Jimenez) and ‘I Sang Dixie’. also included. His second ACL outing, Yoakam, provides a generous fourteen-song reminder of how bizarrely unusual…

Dwight Yoakam seems mysterious on the cover. With two images side by side, the honky tonker from Kentucky wears a signature cowboy hat, denim jacket and jacket and plucks his electric guitar, with legs spread and head pointed down. But there’s really no mystery about Yoakam, who has been making music longer than some contemporary country acts have been around. And Yoakam has a thing or two to show these young Turks what country music used to be – and based on this…

It’s comforting to know that in an unpredictable, fast-paced world, some things will always remain the same. Dwight Yoakam will never fall short when it comes to sharing a cool groove. Here he is, some 35 years after his debut, still sharp and with that cowboy hat low over his eyes, giving the impression that he hasn’t aged a day, and back home at Warner Bros., the label that originally launched him. It’s also reassuring to know…