David Allan Coe got a good jumpstart on the whole 1970s country outlaw thing... For one thing, while Johnny Cash was going to San Quentin and Folsom to sing to the convicts, Coe had actually been in prison (although there has been some controversy about the nature of his crimes and the severity of his sentences...) and his first album, the independently released Penitentiary Blues, was an outlaw-themed set that came out in 1969, when the Waylon and Willie were just starting to free themselves from the corporate grip of mainstream Nashville.

Still, I've never quite bought into Coe's bad-boy self-mythologizing and self-promotion, although he sure has written a bunch of great songs. It's only late in life that I've come to realize that I may have him a little confused in my mind with Johnny Paycheck, but stuff like that happens. Anyway, here's a look at Coe and his career... And there sure are a lot of records you can check out!

David Allan Coe "Penitentiary Blues" (SSS International., 1969) (LP)

David Allan Coe "Requiem For A Harlequin" (SSS International, 1970) (LP)

David Allan Coe "The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy" (Columbia Records, 1974)

David Allan Coe "Once Upon A Rhyme" (Columbia Records, 1974)

David Allan Coe "Longhaired Redneck" (Columbia Records, 1976)

David Allan Coe "David Allan Coe Rides Again" (Columbia Records, 1977)

David Allan Coe "Texas Moon" (Plantation Records, 1977)
Previously unreleased material from his years with Shelby Singleton... But after Coe became a Top Forty star, Mr. Singleton seems to have had a change of heart and dug this stuff out of the vaults.

David Allan Coe "Tattoo" (Columbia Records, 1977)

David Allan Coe "Buckstone County Prison" (Soundtrack) (DAC Records, 1978)

David Allan Coe "Family Album" (Columbia Records, 1978)

David Allan Coe "Nothing Sacred" (DAC Records, 1978)
Obscene and oh-so-naughty songs from Mr. Coe, with poetic gems such as "Linda Lovelace," "Pussy Whipped Again," "Cum Stains On The Pillow," and "Fu*k Anita Bryant..." An old-fashioned blue record for new-fangled rednecks.

David Allan Coe "Human Emotions" (Columbia Records, 1978)

David Allan Coe "Compass Point" (Columbia Records, 1979)

David Allan Coe "Spectrum VII" (Columbia Records, 1979)
Spectrum Seven? Well, la-ti-da, Mr. Working Class Hero...

David Allan Coe "I've Got Something To Say" (Columbia Records, 1980)
Yes, I'm sure you do...

David Allan Coe "Encore" (1981)

David Allan Coe "Invictus (Means) Unconquered" (Columbia Records, 1981)
Oooh, Latin. So brainy.

David Allan Coe "Tennessee Whiskey" (Columbia Records, 1981)

David Allan Coe "D.A.C." (Columbia Records, 1982)

David Allan Coe "Rough Rider" (Columbia Records, 1982)

David Allan Coe "Underground Album" (DAC Records, 1982)

David Allan Coe "Castles In The Sand" (Columbia Records, 1983)

David Allan Coe "Hello In There" (Columbia Records, 1983)

David Allan Coe "Just Divorced" (Columbia Records, 1984)

David Allan Coe "Darlin', Darlin' " (Columbia Records, 1985)

David Allan Coe "Unchained" (Columbia Records, 1985)

David Allan Coe "Son Of The South" (Columbia Records, 1986)

David Allan Coe "A Matter Of Life... And Death" (Columbia Records, 1987)

David Allan Coe "I Love Country" (1987)

David Allan Coe "Crazy Daddy" (Columbia Records, 1989)

David Allan Coe "1990 Songs For Sale" (DAC Records, 1990)

David Allan Coe "Standing Too Close To The Flame" (DAC Records, 1994)

David Allan Coe "Johnny Cash Is A Friend Of Mine" (King Records, 1998)
Not that we're bragging, or anything, but Rosanne Cash once emailed me to thank me for a review I posted a long time ago...

David Allan Coe "Recommended For Airplay" (Sony/Lucky Dog Records, 1999)

David Allan Coe "Long Haired Country Boy" (King Records, 2000)

David Allan Coe "Songwriter Of The Tear" (Cleveland International Records, 2001) *
(Produced by David Allan Coe)
Clearly ravaged by the passage of time, Coe's voice sure ain't what it used to be... On the opening track, "Desperate Man," it sounds so thin, you'd think a teenager was singing, hardly the deep rumble of years gone by... There are some good songs on here -- notably the boozing ballad, "Drink Canada Dry" and a weeper called "The Walls In This House Are Too Thin" -- and a lot of stuff that's pretty negligible. It's hard to sort one from the other, though, since the production is generally pretty bad as well. Just sort of obvious and by-the-numbers. On the whole, you can probably skip this record unless you're a really devoted fan.

David Allan Coe "Country And Western" (King Records, 2002)

David Allan Coe "Sings Merle Haggard" (King Records, 2002)

David Allan Coe "Whoopsy Daisy" (Coe Pop Records, 2002)

David Allan Coe "Live From The Iron Horse: Biketoberfest '01" (Coe Pop Records, 2002)

David Allan Coe "Sings Johnny Cash's Biggest Hits" (King/Gusto Records, 2003)

David Allan Coe "Live At Billy Bob's Texas" (Smith Music, 2003)

David Allan Coe "All I'll Ever Be" (2005)

David Allan Coe "For The Soul And For The Mind: Demos Of '71-'74" (Coe Pop Records, 2005)

David Allan Coe & Pantera "Rebel Meets Rebel" (Big Vin Records, 2006)

David Allan Coe "17 Greatest Hits" (Sony Records, 1978)

David Allan Coe "For The Record: The First Ten Years" (Columbia Records, 1984)
Oh, sure, he actually went to jail and all, but in creative terms, David Allan Coe was a bit of a poseur, riding on the country "outlaw" coattails of Waylon and Willie and the boys... One sure sign is the high proportion of name-dropping songs he started out with (i.e. "Willie and Waylon and Me"... yeah, as IF!). But, that being said, he was my kinda outlaw poseur... He still made a bunch of hella catchy, fun, faux-rowdy redneck novelty tunes, and this collection is chock full of the best. "Jack Daniels, If You Please" is irresistible, and his version of Steve Goodman's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" is a high water mark for country music -- any kind of country! Once he had a smash hit with "Take This Job And Shove It" in 1978, though, the writing was on the wall. As soon as he became a star in his own right, his music took a major-league nosedive. Muy mal. But hey, this collection of early stuff is definitely worth having.

David Allan Coe "The Essential David Allan Coe" (Sony Records, 2004)

David Allan Coe "Ultimate Collection" (Madacy Records, 2005)

David Allan Coe "Playlist: The Very Best Of..." (Sony Legacy, 2008)

• Wikipedia: David Allen Coe

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