The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock: New Edition (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture, No. 12)

Rating:
Summary: An excellent primer for fans of Texas alt-country
Review: Jan Reid's excellent update of his previously published work is a must-read for any fans of the Texas country music scene, both present and past. Reid updates his book with added chapters and descriptive passages, tracing the development of the sounds and styles that have virtually defined Texas music. This is as much a work of Texana as it is a musical history. It's important writing, and it carries significant cultural weight behind it.

Reid's writing is much like the characters that he writes about. Rambling, disjointed at times, occasionally losing track of a theme or a story, but always interesting. Virtually all of the seminal Texas cosmic cowboys are profiled here, from the early years of Doug Sahm and the 13th Floor Elevators, to Willis Alan Ramsey, Michael Martin Murphey, Kinky Friedman, and many more. Reid's updated material profiles the modern-day inheritors of the style, such as Robert Earl Keen, Charlie Robison, and Jimmy LaFave. Reid even covers the blues influence, with good source material on Marcia Ball, and the immortal Steve Ray Vaughn.

If you're a fan of this music, get this book. If you're wanting to know what Austin was like back when it was still a smallish college town and a haven for redneck hippies, get this book. If you want to know about the music that has provided a background soundtrack for the lifestyle of many Texans, get this book. It's the real deal. Every music fan in Austin should own a copy.