Dwight Yoakam Quote Sheet
Rolling Stone
“’Second Hand Heart’ features [Yoakam’s] best songs in years.”
Rolling Stone Country
“Musically,Second Hand Heartexhibits a youthful rebellion and exuberance that recalls Yoakam's early cowpunk spirit, while thematically, it deals with adult themes of overcoming cynicism and doubt in matters of the heart.”
American Songwriter
“His voice hasn’t lost an ounce of its sexuality, strength or range as he proves on booming ballads like “Dreams of Clay” and the sweetly chilling heartbreak of “V’s of Birds.”
No Depression
“Yoakam is back, stronger than ever…There's nothing secondhand about this twangy array of shit-kickin' wallopers and stompers. Fresh off the show room floor, it’s a shiny, custom made vehicle to take Yoakam back to the top of the country charts where he belongs.”
New York Times
"Mr. Yoakam has been releasing albums since 1986, and he was a country hitmaker in the 1980s and 1990s, selling millions of albums, before radio tastes changed. Now he jokes in the Elvis Presley-tinged ‘The Big Time’ that ‘I ain’t never seen the big time,’ but he’s happy just to be ‘a-sittin’ on the front porch’ watching his partner do the laundry. But the album says otherwise: He’s still pushing, still sure of what makes a song alive and durable."
NPR
“[T]his album feels as fresh as anything he's ever done — more so, even, than the rejuvenating, Beck-coproduced3 Pearsfrom 2012. Better yet, these songs were built to be played live. Time to fire up thelong white car; those twisty roads are calling.”
Spin ‘Album of the Week’
"No longer angling for a hit, this veteran of the airplay succession wars continues to record some of the best music of his life. Support it."
The Boston Globe
“‘Second Hand Heart’ still demonstrates Yoakam’s peerless ability, album after album, to graft new shoots on to classic forms.”
The Boston Globe
“Back on a major label, Dwight Yoakam still calls his own tune”
NPR: Ken Tucker’s “Fresh Air”
“Yoakam's new album is calledSecond Hand Heart, andFresh Airrock critic Ken Tucker says it's one of Yoakam's most stylistically diverse.”
Magnet
“The first thing that jumps out on ‘Second Hand Heart’? Dwight Yoakam’s voice doesn’t sound like it’s aged a day.”
LA Weekly
“Yoakam’s limber vocals ripple with crystalline, rich tone...his singing onSecond Hand Heart, is startlingly strong, whether it’s raucous (Kinks-at-Sun-Records ditty ‘Liar’) or intimate (a “Suspicious Minds”-like reworking of his 2000 track ‘Dreams of Clay’).”
Paste
“’Second Hand Heart’is put together like a great live set. [Yoakam] and his razor-sharp road band kick things off with two barnburners—the stomping ‘In Another World’ and the Byrds-ian ‘She’—followed by quick dips into balladry, a dancefloor-ready waltz, and other peaks and valleys that draw you in, push you back and leave you sweaty and blissful at the end.”
Daily Breeze
“’Second Hand Heart’ shows Yoakam at the top of his game, excelling at everything he attempts.”
Christian Science Monitor
“On his latest,‘Second Hand Heart,’ released 30 years after his debut, Dwight Yoakam’s hillbilly rock swoops and soars with honky-tonk guitars and powerful vocals.”
The Irish Times
“His voice at 58 remains in great nick; even his Elvis shapes onThe Big Timepulse with fun and fervour.”
The Boston Herald
“If this is a country album, it’s the best I’ve heard all year. If it’s a rock album, well, it may be the best I’ve heard all year.”
Buzzfeed ‘11 Reasons You Shouldn’t Forget About Dwight Yoakam’
“[‘Second Hand Heart’] sound like tunes you could either square dance or head bang to.”
Stereophile
“Meanwhile, Yoakam hasn’t lost an ounce of the twang and authenticity that have always informed his singing and songwriting.”
Live:
LA Times
“For a deep, typically solid set of electric honky tonk music, Yoakam and band offered a bit more shimmer and sparkle than [Eric] Church. Performing songs from throughout Yoakam's platinum career, Yoakam struck a note with the crowd…”
O.C. Register
“Yoakam is a flawless performer, his vocals were spot on and he’s hired a fantastic band to back him on stage…the real treat came with the debut of a brand new song, ‘Second Hand Heart.’”
AZ Central
“The concert featured a rollicking mid-show reminder of just how great Dwight Yoakam is. The man is a national treasure with catalog of classics.”