Even his most die-hard fans must concede that a lot of Dwight Yoakam's stuff sounds the same. Still, working with such a great formula — honky-tonk trash meets alt-country irreverence — Yoakam has never suffered much at the hands of his own redundancy. But with Blame the Vain, the cowpunk's 18th record in 21 years, the formula has changed. Having split from longtime producer Pete Anderson, Yoakam has taken the reins on this one, and a fresh acoustic wind has swept over his new songs. The singer's writing is born-again, as well, with a love's-demise theme wrapping everything together. His critically lauded Hollywood career has taken an unexpected turn, too, with an appearance in Wedding Crashers. We smell midlife crisis. Which means a live show that's less predictable than ever.
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