* * * * <i> Great Balls of Fire</i> , * * * <i> Good Vibrations</i> , * * <i> Maybe Baby</i> , * <i> Running on Empty</i> : PASSING THE BUCK

* “HILLBILLY DELUXE.” Dwight Yoakam. Reprise. In the liner notes, Yoakam gives a “very special thanks” to Buck Owens for being a pioneer of the “California honky-tonk sound.” That’s an appropriate credit on an album that begins with “Little Ways”--a Yoakam song that’s a virtual carbon copy of Owens’ style--and sticks close to the formula from there on out.

On last year’s debut, “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc.,” the Los Angeles-based Kentuckian didn’t really sound any more innovative than he does on this follow-up, but that album carried an aura of adventurism in its rediscovery of lost styles. That impression was heightened as the singer shared concert bills with the likes of rock band Husker Du. This time he sounds as if he’d be perfectly content to stick with appearances at state fairs and on the Nashville Network.

Yoakam’s own compositions--heartfelt slices of life on the honky-tonk circuit and back home--and his interpretations of Lefty Frizzell’s “Always Late With Your Kisses” and the early-’60s Elvis Presley rocker “Little Sister” are little more than genre exercises. There’s hardly an original lick on the album save for the guitar contributions of Pete Anderson (also the album’s producer), who ranks with the best Fender-benders in country music.

Wouldn’t it be a more meaningful tribute to Owens and his peers if Yoakam had used their music as inspiration to stake out some new ground rather than just tread a well-worn path?