Pigeon Opinion Featuring an Interview with Rusty Reid

With Lone Stardust (Masterworks of Texas Songwriters), Rusty Reid takes an unexpected turn. After a career built largely on original material, the Texas-born songwriter dedicates an entire double album to songs written by fellow Texans. Rather than treating these tracks as museum pieces, Reid approaches them as living works, finding fresh angles while honoring their roots.

Lead single "All Through My Days," written by Vince Bell and Connie Mims Pinkerton, sets the tone perfectly. Its unusual urban-love narrative, jangling guitars, and steadily rising dynamics make it an inspired choice. Reid's weathered, expressive delivery brings warmth and character to a song that feels both timeless and overlooked.

Interview with Rusty Reid

1. You’ve only released a couple of cover songs before — what made now feel like the right time to dedicate an entire album to them?

Hey, Pedro, thanks for the discussion. Yeah, I released "No Deposit, No Return" on my first album, a song I discovered on an old Martha Davis record from the early 1950s. Then in 2022, I released "Shelter" as a single, a song from Maria McKee and Lone Justice I just loved. But even before that cover was released, I was gathering and recording songs for this project. This idea started with a couple of test projects, in which Steven Beasley and I recorded two songs that were written by songwriter friends of ours back in Houston. That got me thinking it would fun to do a whole album of songs written by Texas songwriters. I didn't realize at that time that this is a rare project: a single artist honoring a batch of different writers with a common geographical link. Those test two songs started this project, and are the first two on the album. Or, really I should say double-album; with 19 songs it's twice as long as traditional LPs.

2. Why was it important for you to focus specifically on Texas songwriters for this project?

The personal link was the main impetus; most of these are songs I grew up with. But also I knew of at least half a dozen songs that have been part of me for decades that most people have never heard. The opportunity to bring them out into the light a bit was appealing. As a group, I don't think Texas songwriters are as widely recognized as they should be. Often, they go off to Nashville or L.A. and may not even be recognized as Texans any longer.Who knows that Stephen Stills, Steve Miller, Don Henley, J.D. Souther spent formative years in Texas? I would wager that Texas has the most colorful and and varied cross-section of songwriters in America, and that would be just because of the geography and heritage. Texas is really a mashup of four regions: the Old South, Old Mexico, the Midwest/Great Plains and the desert Southwest, and all of them have a swagger that no other part of the country can match, for better and worse.

3. How much of your own musical identity was shaped by growing up in Texas?

Pretty much all of it. Not that I wasn't listening to music from outside of Texas or even America. I certainly was, and some of that was even more influential than strictly songs emanating from Texas. Yet I heard everything through Texas ears and sensibilities. I was lucky to be able to tune into regional radio stations that played a huge variety of songs. Of course, out in West Texas I was steeped in Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. Later, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson and ZZ Top and J.D. Souther were songwriters I loved (and I didn't even know J.D. was from Texas until I started this project). Then when I officially joined the music "scene" in Houston, we were learning from and influencing each other. I've continued to learn and grow as a songwriter (and person) in my subsequent wanderings to Nashville, Los Angeles and Seattle, not to mention listening to world music, but everything has to get past that original Texas filter.

4. What drew you to “All Through My Days” as the first single from the album?

"All Through My Days" was the second "test" song that commenced this project, and I thought we hit a pretty good groove with it. Written by Vince Bell and Connie Mims back in those halcyon Houston days, it seems to be a nice introduction to the spirit of the album. My initial idea was to only release singles off the album that most people will not have heard before. Why not give these "hits that never were" songs a chance to breathe? But I'm getting pressure to promote some of the classics. I'm not sure at this point which way I'll go.

5. The song has this unusual mix of playful energy and emotional depth — what do you think makes it stand out?

It has all the elements I was looking for: melody, lyrics with gravitas, rhythm, spunk. Yeah, "playful" is a good description of it, for sure.

6. You mention the “chimey and brash” guitar sound on the track — how did you approach recreating or reinventing that atmosphere?

"All Through My Days" definitely allows for soundscape opportunities. This version is very different from Vince's versions; he's recorded it a couple of times. I don't think Connie ever recorded it, or if she did it hasn't appeared digitally. Steve brought this in with bass, drums, acoustic and a funky electric guitar already in place. I overlayed the brash electric guitar bits on my Gretsch. The growl tone at the end susprised even me. But I think those guitar parts work to help elevate the song into a different sphere.

7. Did interpreting other writers’ songs give you a new perspective on your own songwriting?

Not so much on my writing, but certainly on my singing. Sometimes I think my own songs don't challenge me as singer as they could. But these songs gave me a workout. So that was a big part of the fun of making this album. "Alchemist" was a hoot to work with.

8. Were there any songs on the album that changed meaning for you once you started recording them?

I don't think so. I tend to write, as well as gravitate toward, songs that are pretty straightforward. They have something to say, and then say it. It's probably more abstract lyrics that lend themselves to meaning-chasing. There's not much of that on this album.

9. You’re now based in the Pacific Northwest — do you think distance has changed the way you connect with Texas music and storytelling?

Oh, sure. The PacNW has its own rich rock and folk and indie traditions, which also influenced me back in the day, and still, actually. The weather is different up here, a lot of grey skies and drizzle, so there's an uncertainty, a melancholy and brooding seriousness that is less prevalent in Texas songwriters. Many Texas songwriters think they can explain the world in a song; this album features quite a few, and I'm as guilty as any. Most Northwest songwriters easily understand that notion is completely daft.

10. What do you hope listeners take away from Lone Stardust (Masterworks of Texas Songwriters) as a complete body of work?

Some of the reviewers of the album have misunderstood that this album is a survey of the range of Texas songwriters. That's not even close to the truth. The range of Texas songwriters is wider than a a hundred Palo Duro Canyons, stretching from old guard blues to soul to psychedelic rock to metal to garage rap to country rock to honky-tonk to Western Swing to big band to glam pop to boy bands to sexpots to indie folk to jazz (modern and Dixieland) to punk to prog to hiphop to lounge lizard and beyond, and that's before we even delve into TexMex, which just may be the most authentic Texas music of all. Those mariachi trumpets and accordion always get me There are some good playlists that explore this full range. But I had to confine myself to a narrow slice of that huge pie, selecting songs that I could sing with exerience and conviction, mostly in the pop-folk-country rock realm. I do hope that listeners will dig these songs with original melodies, original themes and lyrics and soundscapes that convey the vibe of Texas in their own, unique way. I was even able to sneak the trumpets and accordion in. So welcome to a little taste of Texas songwriting hand-picked just for me, and you.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Rusty Reid on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist