Praise for ALWAYS BEEN THERE

Nominated for the 2010 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research

 

"The goal of Always Been There is to allow some closeness to the notoriously private Rosanne Cash, and the book quite succeeds."
—Sing Out

 

“As a fine mix of biographical examination, historical analysis, musical dissection and informal exchange, Always Been There provides excellent and vital information about the process of making an excellent CD. It also spotlights a father/daughter situation that had lots of love, but also its share of complications.”
—Nashville City Paper

 

"Those seeking celebrity gossip won't find it in this thoughtful book, but its portrait of a middle-aged woman coming to terms with a complicated legacy is top-notch."
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Rosanne dives into her psyche and her past in search of answers a less skillful biographer than Streissguth might have missed."
—Atlanta Journal Constitution

"An effortless read with plentiful photos, Always Been There is an enticing view of an artist unafraid to challenge herself."
—The Austin Chronicle

"[A] hymn to the spirit."
—The Wall Street Journal

"A meditation around the making of the album and around Rosanne's fraught relationship wither her father and with country music."
—The Irish Times

"Always Been There moves quickly, especially for longtime fans who have always respected her privacy, yet wondered what she's really like."
(CMT.com)

“Always Been There . . . elegantly tells the story of how, 35 years after her father gave her a list of '100 songs she ought to know', Rosanne Cash whittled it down to an album's worth of material as an exercise in 'song preservation.'"
—The Independent

"Always Been There . . . examines Cash’s recording process, her myriad, sometimes conflicted thoughts on The List and the resonance and importance of the material."
—The Tennessean

 

"Streissguth is a skillful biographer, investigating Rosanne's relationship with work and art as well as with her famous parents....[An] intimate, illuminating narrative [with] a satisfying sense of history that should please any fan of modern American music."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"One heck of a read."
—American Way

"Being able to read Always Been There in conjunction with listening to The List is a real treat."
—PopMatters.com

"Born into a tradition, Roseanne Cash has never feared the road less traveled. Michael Streissguth¹s intimate book illuminates the pleasures and travails, the intersections, dilemmas, and decisions that Roseanne Cash considers when making the art that defines her."
—Robert Gordon, author of Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters

"Streissguth's moving and elegantly wrought portrait illuminates not only one of popular music's most enigmatic and singular artists, but also the mystery of the creative process itself."
-Alanna Nash, author of The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley

"Michael Streissguth's Always Been There: Rosanne Cash, 'The List,' and the Spirit of Southern Music tells the inside story of the album that finally resulted from that list and paints an unforgettable portrait of Rosanne and her lifelong search for her legacy."
—Atlanta Journal Constitution