Book Review: Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio

I review for Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers

I was privileged to review the book Beautiful Mess: The Story of Diamond Rio by Diamond Rio with Tom Roland. The book gives the reader a very detailed background of each member of the group, how they struggled to become part of a successful group, and how they all managed to be in the right place at the right time to come together as Diamond Rio.

There is a chapter dedicated to each band member: Marty Roe, Dan Truman, Jimmy Olander, Brian Prout, Gene Johnson, and Dana Williams. The book is filled with black and white photos of individual members when they were children, and of the group as they became a solid and award-winning group, lasting more than twenty years together.

The book chronicles the struggles, the small steps, and the joy of the first hit songs. It takes us through the group’s personal and health problems, of slumps and revivals. Several pages are devoted to the charitable work of the group.

I am not a diehard county music fan, but I have always loved Diamond Rio because of their harmony. A few times, the author wrote about people in the county music industry that I had never heard of, and that was a little confusing for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to many more years of music from Diamond Rio on Word Records.

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