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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
If you're going to write an autobiography, be honest, September 29, 2009
This review is from: Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio (NelsonFree) (Hardcover)
If you're going to do an autobiography, you need to be honest and willing to share things with your readers. That's where "Beautiful Mess" by the band Diamond Rio trips up. Some of the members seem less than forthcoming about their stories, which makes the book feel unbalanced. For instance, Dana Williams is very candid when he writes about the breakup of his marriage. But when members Brian Prout and Dan Truman go through similar situations, it is dealt with in terse, one-paragraph summaries. Truman's situation is especially frustrating: "Facing unforseen challenges, Dan and Wendee ultimately ended their marriage, and the divorce was being finalized in 2009." What challenges? Pressures of the road? Religion? Readers have no clue. And as this book is published by a Christian publisher, it is a bit odd that readers would be left so unenlightened. If Prout and Truman were not ready to discuss such issues, perhaps now was not the time to release an autobiography?
Other sections in the book are more interesting, as we follow the group's origins and rise to fame. But the group's dismissal from Arista Records is handled rather briefly -- die-hard fans know the group's singles started to perform poorly on the charts, but that's not found in the book. It would also be nice to learn more about the band's spirituality. One gets the idea that some members are more devout than others, but this isn't something that is pursued. In the end, the book feels more like a marketing tool to tie in with the group's first contemporary Christian album than a genuine testament of faith or an honest-to-goodness autobiography. Too bad, because I still love the group's music.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great read!, April 5, 2010
This review is from: Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio (NelsonFree) (Hardcover)
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I had always been a fan of Diamond Rio's music. In the 1990's especially, they were a constant presence on my radio. There music has always appealed to me. That being said, I did not know a whole lot about the group, so I was curious to find out more.
This book gives a great history of the group. I found their formation and Opryland roots in particular to be really fascinating. There are also chapters written by and about each guy in the group. Since I didn't know all about them, this was particularly interesting for me. All the history and facts was new for me, so I really enjoyed it. I imagine that if you already know everything about Diamond Rio, this might be old information to you; but I still think it is presented in a way that is fun to read.
I learned a lot about the group, and about each of the guys in Diamond Rio. I have more respect for them than I had before, and it was fascinating to read all the stories behind the music.
One of my favorite things about this book is that when you buy it you also get free digital and audio copies that you can download from the publisher's website. I downloaded the audio version because I wanted to hear each of the guy's voice reading their section, and the audio provides that. I wasn't really interested in a digital copy to read on my computer or other device, but that is an option as well.
This book is certainly a bargain -- in that you get three formats for the price of one! The book is a great read, and I really enjoyed reading about one of the great bands of country music!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Decent read, August 3, 2010
This review is from: Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio (NelsonFree) (Hardcover)
I have not read many autobiographies, so when the opportunity came my way to review this book I thought it would be great to read. I loved Diamond Rio when I was younger and I thought it would be fascinating to read about how they got together, etc.
The book starts out with the reader learning that things were not going so well with Diamond Rio. The lead singer Marty Roe couldn't sing on key anymore. It was a real trying time for them and if Marty couldn't fix the problem with his vocal cords then the group would have to break up.
Then the book takes a chapter for each of the band members and sort of gives you there life story from when they were small to when the group gets together under a different name at the time called the Tennessee River Boys. The one thing that bothers me is the chapters seem sort of short and do no contain enough information since it is a autobiography I believe it should be a bit more revealing and more personal than biographies are, so I found it a bit lacking.
Then after the chapters on each band member it takes you through the wild ride they have had together and then back to the original problem of Marty's voice and how it gets fixed. Yes, you can say that Diamond Rio's ride through country music has been A Beautiful Mess, but I just think the book could have been a bit better.
I would recommend it to anyone who loves reading autobiographies because it is a decent book.
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