Dwight Yoakam - Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years

Yoakam burst onto the country scene in 1986, the same year as Steve Earle. And while Yoakam seemed initially like a stylized poser, he has long since proven himself the real McCoy: an inventive, crooning guitarist with a genuine love of honky-tonk tradition. Featuring 87 tracks from a dozen studio recordings, tribute albums, soundtracks and concerts as well as many previously unreleased songs, this four-CD set shows that while he may have been originally inspired by Buck Owens, Yoakam’s musical tastes are much broader. Along with hits like his “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “I Sang Dixie,” the collection includes tributes to Merle Haggard, Kinky Friedman and Bob Willis & the Texas Playboys as well as covers of Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita” (with accordionist Flaco Jimenez), The Clash’s “Train in Vain” and Sonny & Cher’s “Baby Don’t Go” (with Sheryl Crow). And he performs some pretty convincing versions of two songs popularized by Elvis Presley: “Mystery Train” and “Suspicious Minds.” A true maverick.