Last Chance for a Thousand Years: G.H. From 90's

All those folks who contemptuously dismiss today's mainstream country and wish they could have been around for the heyday of Lefty Frizzell and Buck Owens are missing the boat. Right now, right in front of us, the Frizzell-like George Strait and Owensesque Dwight Yoakam are quietly assembling two of the great careers in country music history. Further evidence is now available in the form of Yoakam's second greatest-hits package (the first, Just Lookin' for a Hit, collected his 10 best singles from 1986-89). The new collection gathers 11 of his 13 Top 40 country hits from 1991-96 (strangely omitting "Nothing's Changed Here" and "Try Not to Look So Pretty") and adds three new songs. The new ones are good ones--Yoakam gives the ballad "Thinking About Leaving," cowritten with Rodney Crowell, a striking low-note guitar riff; he makes Waylon Jennings's "I'll Go Back to Her" even more traditional than it was; and he lends Queen's rockabilly romp, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," an authenticity it never had. Yoakam is living proof that it's still possible to combine commercial success and artistic achievement in country. --Geoffrey Himes