I was listening to Dwight's 98 release again last night, closely, and came
to the conclusion that this is just about the most produced records in the
country genre from last year. Well, one of 'em. Remember how Mike Ireland
and Holler's record got a lot of attention because it has strings on a few
songs? And some folks criticized it for being over-arranged or produced (I
know these mean different things, but am not really sure why). But, shit,
Dwight Yoakam's record is like a ceramic pot that's been worked so slick
that you can see yourself in it. In comparison, Ireland/Holler is a
barebones affair. I don't know what this is leading to; certainly not a
value judgment, since I like both records. Dwight's, in fact, is probably
one of my favorites of his (though it's no "Looking for a Hit" or "Buenes
Noches...") I guess it's just a way of saying that the presence of strings
doesn't necessarily say much, one way or another, about the production ethic
that's going into a record. Oh, yeah, DW's record has more strings, used
less delicately, than the Holler record. -- Terry Smith
