3 Pears

3 Pears
Studio album by Dwight Yoakam
Released	September 18, 2012 (2012-09-18)
Genre	Country
Length	45:13
Label	Warner Bros. Nashville
Producer	Dwight Yoakam Beck Hansen
Dwight Yoakam chronology
Dwight Sings Buck (2007)Dwight Sings Buck2007 3 Pears (2012) 21st Century Hits: Best of 2000–2012 (2013)21st Century Hits: Best of 2000–20122013

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
American Songwriter
Country Weekly
Roughstock
Twang Nation

3 Pears is the eighteenth studio album by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. It was released on September 18, 2012 via Warner Bros. Records.

The album, which includes collaborations with Beck, Kid Rock, and Ashley Monroe of Pistol Annies, has been one of the most critically acclaimed recordings of Yoakam's career. 3 Pears peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 album chart, becoming Yoakam's highest position on the general music chart. By the end of 2012, 3 Pears had appeared on more critic's annual "Best Of" lists than any other album in the country music genre.

The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 18, and on the Top Country Albums chart at No. 3, selling 19,000 copies in its first week. As of April 2015, the album has sold 101,000 copies in the U.S.

3 Pears reached No. 1 on the Americana Radio chart on October 29, 2012, and it broke the 2012 record for most weeks at No. 1 on Americana Radio.

Rolling Stone named the song "A Heart Like Mine" the 39th best song of 2012.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Dwight Yoakam except where noted. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Hold of My Hand"	Yoakam, Robert Ritchie	3:43
2.	"Waterfall"		3:37
3.	"Dim Lights, Thick Smoke"	Max Fidler, Joe Maphis, Rose Lee Maphis	3:43
4.	"Trying"		3:10
5.	"Nothing but Love"		3:04
6.	"It's Never Alright"	Yoakam, Ashley Monroe	4:09
7.	"A Heart Like Mine"		3:58
8.	"Long Way to Go"		3:50
9.	"Missing Heart"		4:34
10.	"3 Pears"		2:46
11.	"Rock It All Away"		4:20
12.	"Long Way to Go" (reprise)		4:34

Personnel

• Rick "The" Baptist – trumpets (6)
• Charlie Bisharat – violin (6)
• David Campbell – string arrangements (6), brass arrangements (6), conducting (6)
• Jonathan Clark – background vocals (1, 3, 5-9, 11), bass guitar (2, 3, 4, 11)
• Martin Cooke – tambourine (4)
• Marc DeSisto – handclaps (10)
• Jason Falkner – bass guitar (9), electric guitar (9)
• Chris Gray – trumpets (6)
• Beck Hansen – handclaps (7)
• Doyle Hargraves – handclaps (10)
• Alan Kaplan – trombone (6)
• Suzie Katayama – cellos (6)
• Darrin McCann – viola (6)
• Mitch Marine – drums (1-6, 8, 10, 11)
• Cole Marsden – bass guitars (7)
• Joe Meyer – French horn (6)
• Kevin Mills – tambourine (1)
• Raul Mischief – handclaps (7)
• "Good" Grief Neill – bass guitars (7)
• Eddie "Scarlito" Perez – lead guitar (3, 6, 11), background vocals (3)
• Steve Richards – cellos (6)
• Cassidy Turbin – drums (7), handclaps (7)
• Joey Waronker – drums (9), percussion (9)
• Brian Whelan – background vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11), bass guitar (1, 5, 6, 8, 10), organ (2, 4, 6, 8, 11), piano (2, 3, 6, 12), steel guitar (1, 3, 9), harmonium (1), Wurlitzer (5), keyboards (10), tambourine (10), handclaps (10), slide guitar (11)
• Dwight Yoakam – lead vocals, electric guitar (1-5, 7, 8, 10, 11), acoustic guitar (1, 4, 6-9, 11), tambourine (4, 5), background vocals (11)

Chart performance

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Australian Country Albums Chart	2
US Billboard 200	18
US Billboard Top Country Albums	3

Critical reception

A thrilling, unqualified success…fans rightly rejoiced this invigorating return to form for one of country music’s finest songwriters. - American Songwriter

Yoakam's first release in seven years is a smashing return...3 Pears mingles honky-tonk, rock, pop (The Bee Gee's "To Love Somebody") and even two cuts co-produced by Beck with great, adventurous warmth. - Entertainment Weekly

(3 Pears) has got hard shuffles, trebly guitars, steel-guitar solos, strong chorus hooks. It locates some measure of cool within old obsessions...but he doesn't want to be contained. The voices are loud, the guitars are louder. - New York Times

(A Heart Like Mine) hits you like a linebacker ... the country pioneer has continued to explore soul, folk, pop and rock to further define his Americana spirit. - Rolling Stone

(Dwight Yoakam is)...one of the most consistently interesting country music visionaries of his time ...the singer-songwriter blends innovation and traditionalism on "3 Pears" in ways no other country artist does. - Associated Press

Dwight Yoakam’s critically acclaimed new album, 3 Pears, is the most celebrated album on the Americana Chart this year. - Roughstock

This gorgeous return to form plays up another side of Yoakam. His tenderness and sense of play shine through on 3 Pears...Yoakam roams right back into his own inimitable style and makes it brand-new again. - NPR

Yoakam has a winner with 3 Pears, a dispatch from a genre-blurred wonderland, and as satisfying an album as has come down the pike thus far in 2012. - DFW

I'll name my favorite country album of the year: Dwight Yoakam's "3 Pears", which is not just a return to form for the honky-tonk singer, but also one of the most consistently pleasurable albums by anyone this year. - NPR