Dwight Yoakam’s debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. is a perfect encapsulation of what has made Yoakam such a mainstay in the country music industry for forty years. His love for the traditional honky tonk sound, and undisguised disdain for the more pop-oriented focus that was coming out of Nashville at the time (and is prominent today) is readily apparent in highlights like “South of Cincinnati” and “Guitars, Cadillacs”, where bright acoustics, strong songwriting, and soaring slide guitars embellish the storytelling chops that seem to come easy to Yoakam. This album made moonshine-swilling hillbilly’s cool again in a way that stood out in its own distinct way in 1984.
Standout Songs: “South of Cincinnati”, “Guitars, Cadillacs”, “Bury Me”
