Customer Reviews

South Of Heaven, West Of Hell: Songs And Score From And Inspired By The Motion Picture

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Just when you think have Dwight Yoakam pegged, he goes and throws you a curve ball. Well, as long as the curve ball is as good as his newest CD is, long-time fans have nothing to complain about. This CD is labeled as a soundtrack and bears the same name as his recent Western film, although only two of the tracks on the CD are actually on the film's soundtrack. These are the first and last tracks, both entitled Words, with the second a jazzy instrumental version of the first, a gentle, elegaic tune. The remaining songs are, as the CD's cover note states, "inspired by" the film's themes of life, death, and redemption. These themes represent new ground for Yoakam, whose music tends to focus on the tribulations of love. The CD also includes Yoakam's stunning interpretations of gospel-inspired country, demonstrating that, some fifteen years into his recording career, Yoakam maintains the capacity to expand his musical horizons and surprise -- and yes, delight -- his fans.
The harder-rocking country tracks on the CD are excellent and allow a certain Guitar God by the name of Pete Anderson several glorious moments. This is exactly what any fan of Yoakam would expect, especially when his co-writers include Mick Jagger (that old honky-tonk guy) and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Especially delightful are Somewhere and First Thing Smokin' -- listen for Yoakam to momentarily verve off into an early Beatles hit in the middle of this track. But what really makes this album stand out are the spirituals, both traditional tunes and those written by Yoakam himself. One of them is The Darkest Hour (Is Just Before the Dawn). Yoakam is performing this song on his current tour, and the song's lyrics have gained great timeliness in light of the great national tragedy of September 11th. Bekka Bramlett lends superb support on Who At the Door Is Standing, a great upbeat tune which comes across as the kind of hillbilly gospel that Yoakam might have heard in an Appalachian church as a child.
But perhaps the best track on the album is It Is Well With My Soul. Sung with only a piano accompaniment, It Is Well With My Soul has to be one of Yoakam's finest performances. In it, he bares a part of his personality, his personal spirituality, which has previously remained mostly private, in a virtuoso, soaring performance. Yoakam has superior vocal abilities, with his effortless phrasing and distinctive, silvery tone, but here he simply outdoes himself. He is sometimes criticized for an aloof, standoffish presence on the stage, but in this performance, he communicates with passion. The beauty of it is that he manages to do that with the simplest of musical arrangements. That is real genius.

It's very difficult to come up with new words for "excellence" when it comes to discussing the works of Dwight Yoakam.
In the "companion soundtrack" to his movie "South of Heaven, West of Hell," Mr. Yoakam once again raises the bar of superior craftsmanship that has characterized his work since the beginning of his career.
This album is not truly a "soundtrack" as that word is defined, and certainly not as most soundtracks are. The songs presented on this disc are, for the most part, not in the movie at all. Instead, as Mr. Yoakam has claimed, they are merely meant to capture the feel of the film-he has presented here a study of his main character's thoughts, feelings, and actions.
But quite aside from the film, the "companion soundtrack" is Dwight Yoakam's brilliance displayed on yet another level, and stands alone exceptionally well.
The disc begins with "Words," which actually is the theme song of the movie. Here, Dwight Yoakam has presented the actual lyrics to this song (which do not appear in the movie): "Words are not my friend ... they'll watch as you stumble, then laugh when you fall." Lyrically, it is cynical; musically it is soaring, inspirational, and sets the tone for the disc to come.
Each song is a nod to Mr. Yoakam's own spirituality, his sense of the otherworldly, and his reverence for the topic. There are 10 songs, of which Dwight himself wrote (or co-wrote) six. The other four are traditional gospel hymns, bluegrass/Appalachian-style old time music which, here presented, demonstrate that Mr. Yoakam is indeed a Kentucky hillbilly, Hollywood trappings aside.
After "Words" is the traditional "Who at the Door is Standing," a duet with Bekka Bramlett. The arrangement is bluesy, the delivery powerful. Ms. Bramlett is an exceptionally strong vocalist, and her voice merges well with Dwight's. Now we have been set up, so we are led to "Tears for Two," which Dwight wrote with Holly Lamar. It's a spritely number, one he has been presenting in concert during this 2001 tour; while containing Dwight's very distinctive and unmistakable vocals, it's also quite different from his usual psycho-billy hot-country honky-tonk style.
"The Darkest Hour," a traditional gospel tune, is presented here in a very clear, stripped-down, bluegrass style, just a jangle of banjo and guitar, a little percussion. This is another tune Mr. Yoakam has been doing in the 2001 tour, and while I have to say the live version-particularly after September 11-has more poignancy, I am becoming very fond of the simple, heartfelt version presented here on the disc.
"The First Thing Smokin'" is back to Dwight as we've seen him before-hard rockin' country, just this side of the Alabama/Georgia bad boys, but the lyrics remain true to the overall gospel feel of the album: "I ran all night with the damned and the wicked/Tryin' to break out into the clear."
"What's Left of Me" pairs writer Dwight with an unusual partner: Mick Jagger co-wrote this shufflin' honky-tonk tune with Mr. Yoakam, as though to prove he's perfectly justified in wooing that "Honky Tonk Woman" of his. Although this is a favorite track of mine, personally, I think it may actually have been better suited to "Tomorrow's Sounds Today," as it is a straight-up country love song. Still, this appears to be the "section of the movie" where love is proving triumphant, for the next song is "Somewhere," a solo-penned effort that speaks to the longing heart, searching for that one true companion of happiness.
The final three songs return to the gospel sound, with Dwight's own "The Last Surrender," "No Future in Sight," and the traditional "It Is Well With My Soul." Mr. Yoakam is vocally strong in each track, standing on the final note of "It Is Well" in a combination of pride and reverence for just long enough so that it lifts the spirit and carries the listener into the final, jazzy instrumental version of "Words," which rolled over the final credits of "South of Heaven," to quietly lower us back to earth.
Sandwiched between the songs are snippets of dialog, set pieces from the film, some of them fairly important lines; others that merely capture the dark humor and sense of absurdity that typify the whole of the film.
As a whole, the companion soundtrack album is very nearly perfectly conceived and executed. As always, Mr. Yoakam's backup band is in top form, demonstrating even more of their talent as Dwight himself takes a hand at dobro and hot lead guitarist Pete Anderson shows his skill at baritone guitar, percussion, banjo, and mandolin. In his normal manner, Dwight Yoakam looks away from the Nashville faux-country cookie-cutter sound and makes his own shape. He walks his own road and pays no attention to "what sells," and as such, his music stays as true and real and strong; no, far, FAR stronger, than anything being played on country radio today, as of course, not one of these songs will be heard on country radio. This is country radio's loss, and your gain if you buy this album.

that most of the "country music lovers" out there won't hear a single note of this gem. This is country at it's absolute best. A crossroads of traditional country, Americana, old-time gospel, southern-fried rock, blues, inspirational and good old honky- tonkin'......this album has all of those. It will soothe your soul and take your breath away.

Yes, it is a companion album to the movie, but it's not necessary to see the film to get a real, honest feel of the music on this record; which is kind of unusual in this day of CMT/MTV and completely ironic, it being a movie soundtrack and all..... You don't need visuals to "get" this stuff.

If you are a country music fan, you know this music. You know it in your bones. It's from the country radio stations of the 1960's, the rock music of the 1970's, the torch songs of the 50's, the simple tunes from the mountain tops of the Smokies to those rowdy, cayenne-flavored bar stages of Texas and out west to the OK Corral, with a healthy dose of gathering at the river baptism thrown in.....like I said, it's a crying shame that country music listeners will never hear this beauty. Not without a television or magazine or celebrity to tell them they need to be listening to it.... I've tried harassing my local dj's, only to be told "It's not marketing responsive"! whatever that means.......

I suggest you buy a copy for yourself, then..... well, it's going out to as many of my fellow music lovers as I can afford to give it to, this Christmas. My part in spreading the gospel.....

I haven't had a chance to see the film myself, but from what I understand only a few of the 11 tracks on here are in the movie. The rest are "inspired" by sohwoh. Also, only 5 of the 11 tracks were penned by Yoakam himself (Dwight usually writes most all his songs). Three others are traditional tunes, including the banjo driven hillbilly gospel classic, "The Darkest Hour", complete with trumpets, a tuba, and a soulfull organ! Mr. Yoakam hooked up with some other musicians to co-write the remaining 3 songs. Another fresh aspect about this album is the instrumentational versatility displayed by Mr. Yoakam and his band, "The Babylonian Cowboys". Producer and lead guitarist extraordinar Pete Anderson picks up the baritone guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, and percussion. Yoakam also puts down his guitar and takes his cracks with a dobro. Now, how many bands do you know of that have that kind of talent?! The production by Anderson and the performance by the band is fabulous as always!
The thing that surprises me the most about sohwoh, however, is that this is the first time where romance/love gone wrong is not the main theme in Dwight music. While many artists are driving trite "lalala...I love ya...dadada" tunes into the ground, Mr. Yoakam is writing songs with intelligent, poetic lyrics that tell stories ranging from the aftermath of lost love to spiritual redemption. Dwight is not real descriptive or detailed with his lyrics. Instead, like a painter with a few brush strokes, he paints a picture in the listener's mind with just a few elegant words. Sometimes I think his songs sound like letters, or perhaps just poems with music!

The songs range in variety from the rockin' R&B tune "Who At the Door is Standing" (w/ Bekka Bramlett) to the Roy Orbisonesque "Somewhere". Another interesting cut is "Tears For Two", a unique midtempo cool country tune featuring some dream-like percussion work. "The First Thing Smokin' " is this rockin' piano driven number--listen for Yoakam to briefly dive into a Beatles song in the middle here. "The Last Surrender" is a Dwight penned gospel tune about ever lasting life. Another Yoakam penned song, "No Future In Sight", includes a very awesome and clever combination of pedal steel, electric guitar, and organ! "Whats Left of Me" (co-written w/ Mick Jagger) is a classic tear-jerker that takes the listener to some roadhouse along a lonesome highway somewhere between Bakersfield and Austin. It includes some excellent steel and telecastor guitar work! "It is Well With My Soul" features just Dwight's voice and a piano.

In Between the songs there are dialogue sound clips from the movie itself. This definitely adds atmosphere, helping to give the listener a good picture. I'm finding that they kind of get in the way after subsequent listenings, but that's only a minor quivel. The soundtrack opens and closes with "Words", some score from the movie. Within these two bookends is no doubt another fine piece of work from Mr. Yoakam. Go South of Heaven, West of Hell, and wherever else to get this record!

Thanks for reading!

This isn't really a soundtrack (only 2 tracks are on the film)- it's another Dwight album with bits of movie dialogue spliced between the songs - which is interesting for a while but can be programmed on your cd player to just play the music tracks, which I find turns it into a more enjoyable album.I can't say that I take to Bekka Bramlett's over the top vocals on "Who At The Door Is Standing" & "The First Thing Smokin'", but there is still much to like here: "Words", the opening track, "Tears For Two", "The Darkest Hour", wonderful traditional gospel, "What's Left Of Me", a great co-write with Mick Jagger, "Somewhere", "The Last Surrender", new gospel by Dwight, and the Allman Brothers styled "No Future In Sight". These tracks are as good as anything Dwight has ever released and that's enough to make this a must in my book!

.....but, you might want to skip the movie; it's a "yawner". {Although, Mr. Yoakam "Do look MIGHTY FINE" in all that western wear!:>}

The CD has a western flavor. A refreshing change from the usual Yoakam {not that we don't love that too!} The first cut, "Words" is quiet, reflective....and says alot with a few words, really. "Who At My Door Is Standing", "The Darkest Hour" and "It Is Well With MY Soul, are old gospel favorites done with heart and I enjoyed hearing them by Yoakam. "Somewhere" is my favorite on the CD because it's so western-melancholy-sweet. I relate to his "What's Left Of Me"..I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek lyrics...{I really can't stand Jagger...so we'll give Dwight most of the credit for this one}. "Tears For Two" and "No Future In Sight" are the same "down-on-your-luck-but-with-a-sense-of-dry-humor" stuff we are used to from him....but with the same western flavor as the rest of the CD. As you can see, I'm not much of an expert when it comes to reviews....but if you enjoy Yoakam music....you REALLY need to add this one to your collection.

I'm not really in to "cowboy" movies and purchased this album more or less to try to complete my collection of Dwight Yoakam's body of work. This album is so very different and most interesting. Now I really wish I could obtain a DVD of the movie because this companion album of the soundtrack written by Mr Yoakam, who also appears in the film whets the appetite for more. I always viewed Dwight Yoakam as a very talented young man who put the COUNTRY back into country music when it seemed to be losing its way and gained deserved fame & fortune as a Country Music Star. He is so much more and this album shines on another facet of his talent. I guess this is why he is still shining bright at 53. Apart from all this, he really does have a very good voice!

I bought this album looking for something new/different/and off the wall to play on my radio show, and it has it. It's kinda fun to listen to and the songs are good. For the money it's worth adding to your Dwight Yoakum music library, and will give you 9 Dwight songs that to my knowledge aren't on anything else. Just wish one of them had been a rock-a-billy number....

The Mean Eyed Cat
Rock-A-Billy Review
KNON Radio 89.3
Dallas, Texas

fine music.

First let me say that 'Words', selections which begin and end this CD, the end being a sort of jazzy rendention are the two best tracks on the CD. As I said in my review of the film, in addition to this 'companion' soundtrack, I would have loved to additionally own the 'actual' soundtrack. Some may have found it monotonous, while I myself found it mesmerizing. That soundtrack can be isolated on the DVD and one could record it on tape for their own listening pleasure, but I digress....

This companion soundtrack contains a variety of musical genres. I particularly enjoyed 'Who At The Door Is Standing' and 'What's Left Of Me' and you can't get any more diverse than that.

The between-track dialogue is enjoyment to me. Perhaps because it reminds me of the film, which is one of my favorites.

Anyone who loves Dwight Yoakam, his music, and his band will love the divergence and quality of this CD and will want to have it in their collection.

D. Yoakam no defrauda nunca. No he visto la película, pero la música es excelente. Destacaría los temas "Who at the door is standing", cuya puesta al día es ingeniosa, y "Tears for two", del propio Yoakam. Y, aunque sea sólo una frase, me encanta escuchar en medio del disco "FELIZ NAVIDAD". M.Navarro. Madrid. España.