
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 29, 1995                   TAG: 9502010027
SECTION: BOOK                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY TONI WILLIAMS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SCHOLARLY LOOK AT COUNTRY MUSIC BOGS DOWN

HIGH LONESOME: THE AMERICAN CULTURE OF COUNTRY MUSIC. By Cecelia Tichi. University of North Carolina Press. Price not listed.

\ This book, with its "High Lonesome" title and striking dust jacket photo of a mandolin hanging on a rural fence post, could understandably mislead one to assume that its subject is bluegrass music. But author Cecelia Tichi feels that "The American high lonesome ... extends beyond bluegrass into country music as a whole."

Tichi, a professor of English, defines the "country" in country music as "nation," thereby pronouncing it a national music form. She attempts to put country music on the same cultural level as American literature and art, tracing such common themes as the lure of the open road, the ideal of home and lonesomeness. Meticulously and slowly, she devotes three quarters of the book to these premises, citing the likes of Thomas Jefferson and the Plymouth Pilgrims. Only the most dedicated readers will wade through the scholarly swamp without getting bogged down.

The last quarter is livelier. It profiles country artists who have immigrated to the music, not having been born and raised inside it. Laurie Lewis, Barry and Holly Tashian, producer Richard Bennett, and others underscore the careful study and preparation necessary for artistic success, and agree that country music has been overpopulated by "performers and producers so focused on top-40 radio and video play that these very boxes have boxed them in." Tichi deserves credit for focusing on the work of non-top-40 artists, such as those interviewed and Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell.

Perhaps the best part of the book is the nearly hour-long 23-track music CD, which offers a patchwork of country songs that parallel examples cited in the book. The above-mentioned artists are featured, plus Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Robin and Linda Williams and more. Tex Ritter's penetrating "High Noon" is a particular favorite of mine. Fortunately, the CD's sound quality and range of songs override the eight tracks that are annoying four-line samples.

Toni Williams is a Glasgow librarian.

by CNB