album rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Country / honky-tonk / Bakersfield sound / new traditionalist. Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room is the third studio album by Dwight Yoakam (born Pikeville, Kentucky, 1956), released on 2 August 1988 by Reprise Records (Nashville). It arrived in the wake of Yoakam's first two albums — Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. (1986) and Hillbilly Deluxe (1987), both of which topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart — and confirmed him as the foremost figure of the 'new traditionalist' movement in country music: the deliberate reaction against the overproduced Nashville mainstream in favour of a rawer, roots-oriented sound rooted in Bakersfield and honky-tonk. The album was produced by Pete Anderson, Yoakam's creative partner since their meeting in Los Angeles, where both had found a home in the California punk and roots-music scene after being dismissed by Nashville. The album was recorded at Capitol Studios (studios A, B and C) in Hollywood, with additional recording at Mad Dog Studios in Venice, California. Yoakam plays lead vocals, acoustic guitar and percussion throughout; Anderson plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, six-string bass, baritone guitar, percussion and mandolin. The album contains eleven tracks, including five on the original LP's first side that collectively describe a paranoid descent from obsessive jealousy to murder — what Yoakam's biographer Don McLeese called a subject matter that is 'almost relentlessly bleak, occasionally lethal, a descent into the depths of honky-tonk hell.' The murder narrative is followed by more varied material on side two, including covers of songs by Homer Joy and Hank Locklin. The album's centrepiece is 'Streets of Bakersfield', a duet with Buck Owens — whose 1973 original had gone largely unnoticed — which became both artists' biggest hit and helped revive Owens' career. Maria McKee (Lone Justice) provides backing vocals on 'Send Me the Pillow'.
Label: Reprise Records (Nashville), released 2 August 1988.
Producer: Pete Anderson.
Recording studios: Capitol Studios (Studios A, B and C), Hollywood, California, USA; additional recording at Mad Dog Studios, Venice, California.
Critical reception: Buenas Noches was received positively by most critics. Rolling Stone ranked it fourteenth among the year's best albums. AllMusic critic Thom Jurek praised its emotional depth and honky-tonk authenticity. Robert Christgau of the Village Voice awarded it a B+ grade. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Yoakam was also controversial: some Nashville traditionalists resented his West Coast roots and outspoken manner.
Commercial success: Buenas Noches was Yoakam's third consecutive number-one album on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, holding the top position for nine weeks. It was certified platinum by the RIAA in March 1989. 'Streets of Bakersfield' reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on 15 October 1988, marking Owens' first chart-topper in sixteen years. 'I Sang Dixie' also reached number 1, on 25 February 1989. 'I Got You' peaked at number 5.
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