Longhaired Redneck

By 1976, singer and songwriter David Allan Coe had grown tired of being ignored by the Nash Vegas DJs and promotion men. His wild, long hair; multiple earrings; flashy, glitzy rhinestone suits; Harley Davidson biker boots; and football-sized belt buckles had become obstacles to getting people to take him seriously as a recording artist. Other singers continued to record and succeed with his material, but the author himself — who was as good a singer as almost anyone and better than most — languished in obscurity. Rather than tone it down, Coe characteristically shoved the stereotypes in their faces. He retired the Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy persona and billed his new album as "David Allan Coe Rides Again as the Longhaired Redneck," something equally off-putting to institution types. The album is composed entirely of self-penned tunes and co-writes. It begins with the title track, an outlaw anthem akin to Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother." But the album also includes some of Coe's most enduring material: "Revenge," "When She's Got Me Where She Wants Me," "Texas Lullaby," "Family Reunion," and "Livin' on the Run." The two hinge tracks on the album come near its end. "Free Born Rambling Man," with its Allman Brothers guitar lines, is a nod to Coe's friend Dickey Betts' hit, "Ramblin' Man," full of early country melody and first-class storytelling. "Spotlight," however, is where Coe sums up the way he views his life at this particular juncture, and given the lyrics, his mind couldn't have been a nice place to live. The simple three-chord waltz sets a backdrop for songs that strip the issues to the bone: "All of my music is lonely/Yea, all of my heartaches were free/Don't waste your time or your flashbulbs/Too many heroes are dead/You like to live in the city/I like to live in my head...I spend my nighttimes in mournin'/I spend my mornings alone/You spent your money to see me tonight/Yea, I spent all mine getting stoned...Everyone's lyin' about livin'/ I'm tired of livin' a lie." Like most of Coe's '70s material, this one's essential outlaw country that stands the test of time.