Customer Reviews

Country: The Twisted Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll

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Tosches displays not only a historian's love for the eras he writes about, but a gossip columnist's passion for irreverence and shock. That makes this book and its companion (Unsung Heroes of Rock & Roll) completely essential reads for anyone who loves popular twentieth century music. And, it blows the lid off country's origins in a way guaranteed to outrage country's often-times "holier-than-thou" patrons. Obscure names, obscure songs, obscure facts all mesh to create a living, breathing historical time-capsule that speaks as much about the era the music was recorded in as the music itself. And the writing is dry yet never condescending, witty yet never demeaning, sincere yet unafraid to point out "the truth" no matter how ugly and undignified it may be. But you'll learn to love the heroes that pepper this book for the pioneers they were. And, when the last page is read, you'll come back to it again and again. Part of the pleasure of reading a great book is rereading it and learning much more than you did the last time you read it... Tosches manages that feat thanks to an unflinching eye for detail and a poet's way with words.

Tosches is an entertaining and skillful writer and the premise of this book is an important and timely one. Country music has been diluted, softened and stripped of what once made it great and is now in the hands of the pallid "new country" gang of cheeseballs. Tosches saw this coming way back in the mid-70s, resented it and wrote this book. "Country" is meant to be part general history of country music and part examination of how country music left it darker, more authentic roots and became the saccharine/formulistic tripe that passes for Country music these days. It's a good idea but unfortunately this book is full of misconceptions, omissions and serious factual errors. Yes, country music did have a dark side (which Tosches doesn't seen to grasp at all in context of the music's early cultural roots) but it's always had a family and religious side as well. Even in its earliest stages it could cross over into sentimental and mawkish pap. This didn't start in the 50's as Tosches insists but was present in the music of the Carter Family and Jimmy Rogers (Tosches barely mentions either) who between them invented the genre. Their music embraced both sides of the coin as did every great country artist who ever lived including Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. (Tosches savages Cash in this book, accusing him of becoming a weak, mediocre song writer which is odd because in an article written 15 years later, Tosches praises him to the skies although Cash had written no groundbreaking tunes in the intervening years)
Tosches makes much of how the British murder ballad tradition disappeared completely from early country music, ignoring (or perhaps being unaware of) songs like Banks of the Ohio or Knoxville Girl--both of which were major country hits in the 30s and 50s respectively and are both taken directly from the murder ballad tradition as are many, many other country songs.
His chapter on the development of the dobro and steel guitar is potentially interesting but is full of major errors. Tosches seems unaware of the major differences between dobro, slide guitar, steel guitar, pedal steel guitar and so on and at times it sounds like he thinks they're all the same instrument with only minor alterations. For example, he doesn't mention the difference in the number of strings between dobro and pedal steel nor the very different tunings used. This would be acceptable if the discussion were brief but considering the space he devotes to the topic, these omissions are glaring. It would be a bit like saying that the piano is just a big harpsichord.
At one point he strongly disagrees with musicologists who claim that many country guitarists were influenced by jazz guitarists. He claims that the guitarist from Milton Brown's band couldn't have been influenced by Django Reinhardt because--he says--Reinhardt's records didn't reach the states until the late 30's. This is incorrect. Django was first heard in the US in 1934. Early jazz guitarist Eddie Lang, who had a huge influence on country guitarists, is never mentioned nor is Charlie Christian who was emulated by all of Bob Will's guitarists.
But the most unforgiveable mistake is his insistence that Maybelle Carter's guitar playing had as much influence on country music as "Rudy Vallee", as Toshes sardonically puts it. Perhaps he hadn't bothered to ead the history of the Carter Family, "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" which contains many testimonials from the greatest country guitarists ever recorded who all say that their primary influence was Mother Maybelle. This is so evident simply by listening to classic country music rhythm guitar playing that one wonders if Tosches has actually heard any.
As usual, Tosches can't resist proving to us that he is a scholar of Greek and Roman literature and history and his references to this subject are sometimes laughably incongruous, clearly designed to convince us that his scholary credentials are unimpeachable. Usually these tedious asides have nothing to do with the subject at hand.
Still, Tosches is a great writer, full of irreverence and wit and great turns of phrase. This is a fun book to read and Tosches makes some good points. But the multitude of mistakes in this book makes it useless for anyone who wants to get the real goods on the history of country music. If you're looking for truly well researched books on country music that get right to its essence, forget this and pick up Bill Malone's Country Music USA and Rich Kienzle's excellent book Southwest Shuffle, a fantastically researched book which says more about the real roots of Country music (and far more accurately) in one chapter than Tosches says in this entire poorly realized mess of a book.

In a reader review of Tosches' book on Emmett Miller, whose real origins are in the imaginary chapters of the first edition of this book, this book belongs in every home. The writing is this book alone is worth the price. He's a vigorous wise ass and elegant literary dynamo. If you just read the writing, and dont give a hoot about country music, you will enjoy yourself.

So much of music writing is devoled to haigiagraphy and confirming ignorant common places, whereas Tosches is concerned with the dirty nasty truth, and the wild side of things. You aren't going to learn that Roy Acuff who appointed himself a great country music icon, decades after he had had a hit, began his work in music with a group called "the Bang Boys" that specialized in X rated songs.

His description of a Jerry Lee Lewis recording session sometimes in the 1970s is really masterful and still rings in my mind 20 years after I first read it. Likewise, you will love Tosches' description of the dark end of Spade Cooley. Cooley torutured and murdered his wife because Cooley believed she had banged Roy Rodgers--and Cooley got into show business a double for Roy Rogers in the movies!

There is so much uncovered about the real origins of rock and roll.

No one can live without the first book that wasn't afraid to let you know that Hank Williams was bald!

If you don't have this book in your house, buy it, or move in with someone who's got it!

Dont forget his great book on Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire.
This man knows how to write!

I loved this book. I read it when it was called COUNTRY: THE BIGGEST MUSIC IN AMERICA which I thought was perfect in an ironic sense then and now. This is the thinking person's guide to why C&W matters.

I have bought 6 copies of this books since 1988, for friends and for the two copies I wore out. Before reading this I was already a fan of early Country Music, but this book opened my eyes and ears to a multitude of artists that I wasn't aware of but who had helped shape the direction of Country Music. The only negative thing I can say about this book is that after reading it, I ended up spending a small fortune purchasing LPs, and later CDs, of the obscure artists he makes reference to.

This is an interesting study of the wilder side of country music, first published in 1977.

This was Nick Tosches first full length book, and has a number of themes that have run through his writings over the last 20 years. The raw vitality of popular music, whether country or blues, the social conditions and folk traditions it came from, and the veneer of respectability slapped on it as it became a bigger business.

Some of the assertions seem kind of anachronistic after 20 years, like his disdain for Johnny Cash, who has rehabilitated himself from the saccharine born-again phase he was in during the `70s (there is a mind-blowingly-bad page from a Johnny Cash Christian comic book reproduced in the book).

But the good stories are enthralling. Tosches can trace the origins of an obscure Sun records B-side back to medieval England and make it seem like a drunken rumble.

This is a fine companion book to Greil Marcus' new Invisible Empire book about Dylan's basement tapes. It covers much of the same ground in a way that is to me even more compelling.<P

Extraordinary. The only way to describe this book. Tosches' astonishingly intricate and challenging look at the arcana and history of this great American art form is incredible. If you're looking for a straight chronology of country music then this ain't it. But it's even more the fascinating for that: a collection of essays and (possibly) fictional pieces on the convoluted road to rock 'n' roll via country, jazz, blues and R&B. Connections are made while words, thoughts, facts tumble onto the page in abandon and Tosches' breadth of knowledge and handling of his material is simply breathtaking.

Anyone who thinks country music is boring needs to read this book. A great warts and all treatment of the dark underbelly of C & W. Fascinating trivia and insights for anyone familiar with the great country music of the 1930s to 1950s. The twisted roots of Country makes punk and gangsta look tame.

OK, I'm a big Tosches fan BUT here Nick gets religion and digs deep into the seamy underbelly of country music. Roy Acuff singing dirty songs? The devil in Jerry Lee Lewis? The sacred and profane all wonderfully exposed and written by Nick (the devil himself) Tosches. Great stuff.

A great read with terrific pictures of many past greats, BUT, the same book has been re-issued under three diferent titles!