Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room

I Got You - 83
One More Name - 84
What I Don't Know - 86
Home Of The Blues - 88
Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses) - 87
I Hear You Knockin' - 82
I Sang Dixie - 88
Streets Of Bakersfield - 90
Floyd County - 82
Send Me The Pillow - 85
Hold On To God - 82

Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room - 85

I’m at a 2.5 that I’d prefer to keep there. I think I have to go down to a 2.

Just a frustrating one, really. Dwight Yoakam is not a bad storyteller; his writing makes sense, it’s decently fluid, and his original tracks here aren’t really all that bad. He just tells bad stories. This album alienates early on with how clingy he is to his woman as the only anchor keeping his already broken world from totally crumbling on the opening track. It continues to alienate with him being extremely paranoid about being cheated on during “One More Name”. It escalates with “What I Don’t Know” where he’s practically threatening to shoot a woman if she cheats on him, and culminates with the actual fantasy of shooting a cheating woman straight in the head on the album’s title track. These are all decently told stories. They’re just bad stories. I don’t know what the fuck happened to Dwight to write those out, but they feel wholly inappropriate for 2026.

This album is at its best when Dwight is not trying to fantasize the worst case scenarios about his partners, most of which are in the form of covers. “Home of the Blues” is a good Johnny Cash cover. “I Sang Dixie” is fine, though I wholly disagree with the romanticization of the Confederate south. “Streets of Bakersfield” is good, especially with Buck Owens’ twangy voice in the mix. “Floyd County” is probably Dwight’s best original track here. “Send Me the Pillow” is just kinda sweet (if a little clingy), and “Hold On to God” is a fine enough religious closer (though incredibly ironic given the sin of Murder earlier in the album). The vast majority of this album is really not THAT bad.

I just wasn’t really pulled in for most of it, though. Out of 11 tracks, I only truly enjoyed 4 of them, and with 5 of the first 6 tracks being about him dealing with cheaters in various threatening ways, along with a trio of totally mediocre ones, I just don’t think it’s a great album experience. It’s not a bad listen at all, and I’d say you could probably throw it on if you pay no attention to the lyrics. There’s a good updated honky-tonk sound to the whole album that feels nice to the ears, and doesn’t overdo anything for 1988. If it were just a little better, or had a few more lifelines along the way that don’t make me think Dwight Yoakam kinda hates women (or at least, wouldn’t seriously overreact if one did him dirty), I’d probably be willing to bump it up to a 3. They’re just not there.

As it stands, I just think there’s an air around the album that doesn’t reconcile the tracks I enjoyed or found passably OK with the ones I found rather misogynistic. I suspect there’s probably a Dwight Yoakam album out there that doesn’t feel quite as mean, but I also suspect that if you wanted more 1980s male country on the list, you could’ve just gone with a Randy Travis or a George Strait or something, you know? Hence, a 2.5 bumped down to a 2, no matter how much I’d prefer to keep it at a 2.5.

Get your cowboy pants on!

Dwight Yoakam - Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room

699/1089

⭐️

Not for me in any way shape or form. I’m not a fan of the genre, with some exceptions, and this is as stereotypically country as you can get.

Another not super needed country joint I guess. Wait, it’s Neo-traditionalist. I guess that deserves its place. Ween’s country album is way better, especially because that’s PURPOSEFULLY funny, whereas this is funny on complete accident (“One More Name” is one of the best comedy songs of all time, but sadly I doubt that it is meant to be as funny as it is). Also, this isn’t anywhere NEAR Yoakam’s most significant album! Put Guitars or This Time on here, not this! Y’all set him up for failure.

There are some upsides though; it’s pleasant pastiche for the most part, and Yoakam is a memorable presence on the microphone. It’s also not too long, so it wasn’t really a chore to listen to (though frankly it still could’ve been a bit shorter). The title track is a genuinely nice and emotional little ballad, though the ending is NOT needed and makes the song really funny. All of these songs are actually really really funny, but a lot of them aren’t really all that good, sadly. Recommend it if you want to listen to a really funny album but if you want a good album steer clear.
4.1/10
DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: NO
REASON: BAD AND KINDA BORING
WHAT WOULD I REPLACE IT WITH: This Time by Dwight Yoakim

Based on the reviews I thought that I was goint to hate this album. If you like rock music you are going to listen to some country singers, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson most of the times but the most popular songs dont sound as country as this one, the thing that I saw more complains about were the lyrics, yes, it has a lot of country cliches just like a slayer album has metal cliches, a Motly Crue has glam rock cliches, a Cypress Hill has rap cliches. It's not self councious about being what it is, it doesn't try to change to appeal to other audiences, it wants to be a country album and at that it does a good job, at the same time I wonder if this is as good as the genre can be if its part of the 1001 albums. Anyway, I liked the simple songs, the instrumentation, even on the song that sounds like mexican norteño.

This starts off pretty strong, and I liked some of the instrumentals. But the production is a bit too bright for my liking, and everything soaked in reverb - interesting to see that sound start to come into country though. I'm generally willing to give artists the benefit of the doubt (to a degree) when it comes to murder ballads and the like - playing characters, telling stories, etc. But that title track is a bit too jaunty for a firsthand account of murdering one's spouse. I disliked the one about Smith and Weston acting as judge jury and executioner too. Interesting once again to see the similarities between country music and gangsta rap.

I have historically not liked country, but I’m surprised how endearing this was for me. It’s not something I’d reach for, but it was kind of….soothing. And had enough of a blues/rock vibe to keep me interested.

Not really a fan of country music, but I enjoyed listening to this.

This is a pair of brand new, high gloss, cowboy boots. I prefer creased, dusty, worn-in cowboy boots.

bruh the text ruins the whole thing, no thanks

For a late '80s country album, this is *very* rootsy. It's also very "Tear In My Beer", for better or worse. But, it's also good, so then there's that. Dwight Yoakam is a charismatic storyteller across this collection of Americana songs, and he leads Buenas Noches... somewhere that most country of it's time didn't dare to touch. It honestly invokes some of the '70s (and earlier) couuntry I've heard, especially with the accordion. I will say that I don't think this transcends into one of my favorites of the genre, although the title track is a fantastic song. But regardless, I'm glad I heard this album.

Llegó un momento en el que sentí que estaba escuchando a Los tigres del norte y fue lo único que “me gustó” aunque solo fue una canción y fue el coro.

This guy's really doesn't like women does he

This generator has made me realize that I do not actually hate country. I just find the people who typically listen to country to be insufferable. Easy 4 stars.

Too much country

Favorite track(s): What I Don't Know, Buenas noches from a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses), Streets of Bakersfield

Was absolutely stoked when I saw Dwight's name come up. A childhood favorite and remains probably my favorite country artist of all time. His focus on putting his unique vocal up front and surrounding himself with extremely talented instrumentalists and great producers really separate him from the stock. Love the Cali country vibe, but make no mistake, his tempos and styles vary within the tracklist to create an extremely tight album experience. This might be one of his best alongside 1993's This Time.

"Streets of Bakersfield" is one of my all time favorite songs. So jubilant and the vocal interplay with Buck Owens honestly gives me chills. Dwight was the first concert I ever went to (age 5) and he'll always remain very special because of that.

I love some of Dwight Yoakam's albums. I also live that he stayed true to country music at a time when there was a lot of pressure to have more of a pop sound. I'm just not sure this is the record I wouldn'ty picked.

twang