Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock. By John Einarson. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2001. 287 pp. Paperback. $ 19.95.
In the "Letters to the Editor" of the April/May 2001 issue of Country Music appeared a piece from Ryan Adams, frontman of the alt.country band Whiskeytown. Adams, never known for his tact, had this to say about the magazine's review of his well received solo album, Heartbreaker: "I thought Tom Lanham's review of my album . . . was moronic. Who *#*!*@ listens to Poco? It's stupid. Two and a half stars? It's on the best-ofs on everybody else's list. You guys are championing a bunch of redneck hillbillies. So kiss my ass!" To this the editor replies, "And just for the record, we listen to Poco." Charm aside, of particular interest are Adams' flippant comments about Poco, a statement suggesting that he needs to return to "Country Rock History 101" given the band's role in creating what would be known as "country rock." It is a genre that has received scant historical study. Bill Malone's definitive Country Music USA devotes only a few pages to country rock, and while Gerald Haslam's Working Man's Blues: Country Music in California gives a greater treatment, it's clear that there's more to be said about a genre that helped revolutionize country music.
John Einarson's Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock provides a more in-depth history of Southern California's country-rock movement in the late 60s and early 70s. Certainly Einarson is familiar with the scene given the book-length histories he has written of Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield, and others in addition to his magazine writing. While there is much to commend Einarson for, a more academic approach would enable Desperados to become a more effective text.
In the first chapter, Einarson attempts to establish a foundation for country rock, briefly examining threads of American music (e.g., country & western, jazz, blues, folk, gospel, and rock). He then classifies country rock according to four approaches: musicians who played country but placed more emphasis on the rhythm; musicians who played rock music but integrated country textures; musicians who played folk and bluegrass and brought in country sounds; and established rock musicians who explored country music as part of their artistic evolution.
From there, Einarson takes a decade-by-decade approach, beginning in 1963 with the Bakersfield Sound of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and concluding in 1973 with the Eagles' commercially successful presentation of what country rock had evolved into. (Additionally, Einarson adds a brief look into contemporary country and alt.country.) Einarson's focus on Owens is particularly satisfying, for his sound not only provides a crucial link between country and country rock but also establishes the distance between Nashville and Bakersfield. That is, the Buckaroos provided a musical and attitudinal blueprint for country rock. As Buckaroo Tom Brumley recalls, "Nashville put so many restrictions on the music. . . . It's got to be natural, let musicians play from the heart. That's what country rock was. The sense of adventure was coming from outside of Nashville" (24). (Einarson, too, makes an interesting point on the differing evolutions of East and West country--an idea that would benefit from more discussion that it receives here.)
Desperados traces the dynamic music community that was Southern California and the Troubador in the 60s and early 70s, taking the reader through the intertwined careers of central country rock bands and musicians: The Dillards, Hearts and Flowers, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Dillard & Clark, the Great Speckled Bird, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, First National Band, and the Eagles as well as solo artists like Steve Young, Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, Rick Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt. Einarson uses this community of artists to weave a complex tapestry of musical evolution.
What are Desperados' strengths? It's a readable book. Einarson quotes from many musicians, allowing them to explain their history and music. Of particular note is the way in which Einarson establishes a diverse artist foundation. Too often, there is a tendency to overstate (at times, even romanticize) the role of Sweetheart of the Rodeo and Gram Parsons in country rock's evolution. Einarson is careful to spread the credit around, stressing the importance of musicians like Chris Hillman, Steve Young, Gene Clark, Ian Tyson, Rodney Dillard, Larry Murray, and Richie Furay. Frequently, central musicians like these are lost in the glare of Parsons' Nudie suit and extravagant lifestyle.
A few problems hold Einarson back, however. I should say at the outset that his misspelling of "Jimmy" Rodgers will probably be brought to his attention fairly quickly, though I was more concerned about Desperados' lack of formal documentation. There is no formal bibliography--just a few paragraphs naming magazines, books, websites, and authors all lumped into the "Acknowledgements." As an academic, I wanted to track down sources so that I could do additional reading, but this would be a challenging task given the lack of bibliographic information. Moreover, it is difficult to tell the author's primary research from the secondary materials of others. Such a failure on Einarson's part undercuts the solid work he's done--and keeps other writers from getting the credit that is their due. Similarly, there is no index to facilitate fact-finding.
Despite these problems, in the end, Einarson has written a solid book, one that lays a foundation and points to the unexplored areas of country rock.
Had Ryan Adams read Desperados, he would have known that, yes, people do listen to Poco and for lots of reasons--ironically, Adams himself works in a tradition Poco helped establish. Here's hoping someone gives him a copy of Desperados before he feels compelled to contact another editor.