Dwight Yoakam

Plotting his escape from country radio, an ambitious neorowdy calls up the two generations of L.A. country-rock summed up by the Burritos' "Sin City" and the Blasters' "Long White Cadillac," which redefine a judiciously slanted selection from his three albums. With the honky-tonk filler that spoiled the flavor of his debut EP-turned-LP recontextualized and the strong but mean-spirited first side of Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room undercut by two second-side highlights, you might almost think he was as smart as Gram or Dave Alvin. Well, don't overexcite yourself. Just thank the forces of commerce for a country best-of. (Grade: A-)