Outlaw audiobook

Author, professor and documentary filmmaker Michael Streissguth looks at three musicians at the forefront of change in country music in the late 1960s and and early 70s. Besides all of the biographical background provided for Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, this highly readable book is also filled with insight into Nashville, other performers from Lee Emerson to Kinky Friedman, recording and management practices, the Austin scene; even the Dripping Springs Festival gets mention here. An enjoyable read for anyone interested in what marketers came to call Outlaw country music (origins of which are explained), along with the Nashville of the day.

Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville by Michael Streissguth (!t books, 304 pages, June 4, 2013, $26.99) describes in vivid detail a time of turmoil in Nashville and in the music business when country music, as represented by the corporate image or RCA's country music division with Chet Atkins as the chief of the Nashville office had reached a point of over production and artistic decadence which challenged its listenership and sales. Streissguth describes a time when Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley pioneered the “Nashville sound” by merging soft rock with traditional country and adding crooning strings to develop a marshmallow sound needing refreshment. Into this environment came three singer/songwriters nurtured in Texas and seeking their own ways of expressing themselves. Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson didn't fit the mold that Atkins and men like him tried to force them into. By finding their own sound and audience in a changing Nashville, they established and maintained careers on their own terms that broke the corporate hold on music and established the independence of performers. Read my full review in early June on my blog at www.tedlehmann.blogspot.com

I would have given this book five stars for the writing alone, but Streissguth tried to pull off something that's just not possible. He tried to write the history of the Outlaw movement from just the Nashville perspective and thereby giving Austin short shrift. It's also clear that he didn't really understand the impact that Austin musicians, like Jerry Jeff Walker, had on Waylon and Willie. It was Jerry Jeff who first fought for the artistic freedom to record with whomever and wherever he chose and ultimately got that with Decca. He strove to create an unvarnished, impromptu, live feel to his recordings, which became the hallmark of the Austin scene. The manifesto of the Outlaw ethos was Jerry Jeff's Viva Terlingua, recorded at the dance hall in Luckenbach in 1973. Two years before Red Headed Stranger. This was what Waylon and Willie took back to the Nashville recording studios with them.

This a fascinating history of the Outlaw Movement which changed Nashville and Country Music in so many positive ways. It is a great read for all Willie Nelson fans and all those who still listen to Americana music. I previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Streissguth's biography of Johnny Cash. This was extra enjoyable because my wife and I, while permanent West Coast residents, have visited so many Nashville and Memphis musical landmarks.

A few musicians landed in Music Row in the '60s and changed the Nashville Sound forever. After major success Kristofferson moved to Malibu to star in films, Willie moved back to Texas and Waylon continued to record and do massive amounts of coke. Don't y'all think this outlaw bit has done got outta hand?

What an outstanding book! Stays on point and doesn't pander to the legends it covers. Opened my eyes to the artistry involved in the music and other key players I had never given any attention to. Highly recommend.

OutlawOf you like American country music and all things Cash, Kristofferson , Willie and Waylon this is your book to read

Great stories. Book was hard to put down. Highly Recommended!

Fun book. A quick read with great stories about some great musicians.

Is it my generation? Born in 1952. Perhaps it was because I bought Kristofferson’s Border Lord and fell for the genre? Perhaps it was Waylon’s voice or Willie’s hipness. Maybe it was Johnny Cash song about Ira Hayes, the tragic Indian. Maybe it evolved from the Byrds. Whatever, they were my music in the 70s and still a big thing to me today. I’ve read all their biographies as well as other books and articles but this seems the truest of all.

The Ken Burns documentary on CW music led me to this gem, going deeper on the Outlaw theme with Waylon, Willie and Kris. Very entertaining and revealing. Most definitely worth the time and effort.

One of the fastest reads I've ever done. Couldn't put the damn book down. Love outlaw country and loved reading stories of some of my favorite artists, including the notorious David Allan Coe.

Good read -interesting stories. very well researched, but stiff account of outlaw country with what seems like an outsized interest in Kristofferson. Would recommend.