Townes Van Zandt - Wow!

[Leaffan]

I'm a fan of a lot of different music. I don't particularly like country, or hip-hop, or sugary pop stuff, but I appreciate and acknowledge talent when I hear it.

I had never heard of Townes Van Zandt until tonight. I was watching a Canadian TV interview with Steve Earl (whose music I admire) and found out Steve has just released a new album consisting of original Townes Van Zandt songs.

I must say, that my initial Youtube and Wikipedia research on this guy has left me wondering why in the hell I've never heard of him before. He's a singer/songwriter in the same league as Dylan ferchristsakes! I realize he's better known as a writer than a performer, but he sure sounds good on Youtube.

Anyone else a fan, and what do you recommend?

[zombywoof]

Check out "Heartworn Highways (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartworn_Highways)", there's some great old footage on there.

[zombywoof]

Also I'd recommend the "Texas Music Matters" show linked to on the left side of this page (http://www.townesvanzandt.com/) - Townes still looms large here in Austin!

[Enginerd]

Anyone else a fan, and what do you recommend?
Get Live at the Old Quarter (http://www.amazon.com/Live-Old-Quarter-Houston-Texas/dp/B001QERPBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249709675&sr=8-1) without delay. If you like both van Zandt and Earle, check out the two of them with Guy Clark At the Bluebird Cafe (http://www.amazon.com/Together-Bluebird-Cafe-Steve-Earle/dp/B0001E8D3G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249709761&sr=8-1).

It's weird - I love both Steve Earle and Townes van Zandt, but I don't like Earle's covers of van Zandt's songs. Something about his voice strikes me as too rough or imprecise for the music. Justin Townes Earle (Steve's son) does some nice covers of van Zandt songs too.

[Leaffan]

Thanks for the links.

Townes reminds me a lot of Tim Hardin, musically and tragically, no?

[Talon Karrde]

There was a Townes Van Zandt a little while back. Maybe a year or so.
Found it. About a year and a half ago. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=454936

That's when I first heard of him and looked up his music. I like him a lot, but his music can be really depressing.

[Recliner]

Townes' cover of "Dead Flowers" is surely the only time someone's covered the Stones (just about my favorite band, thank you) -- and made it a far greater song.

(You can hear it quietly in the background in the "funeral parlor" scene in Big Lebowski -- how I found him, I think)

[astorian]

Townes Van Zandt was an institution here in Austin. I can attest that he was both extremely talented AND his own worst enemy.

He could make phenomenal music, and then just when it seemed he was about to make a big breakthrough or get signed to a big record deal, he'd go on a months-long drinking and drug spree, and blow it.

Or, he'd give some electrifying live performances, the kind that would start to draw him a larger crowd... and then he'd alienate the crowd by either giving lackluster performances or by showing up drunk and not even remembering the lyrics to his own songs.

It's easy to understand why people loved him, but also easy to see why so many record companies and fans ultimately decided he was unreliable and more trouble than he was worth.

[Slade]

Start with the 4CD box set Texas Troubadour, issued by Charly in 2005. This gives you four of Townes' original albums (For The Sake of the Song, High Low & Inbetween, Townes van Zandt and Flyin' Shoes) in a handy and affordable package.

Then add the remaining studio offerings - At My Window, The Nashville Sessions and (if you can find it) No Deeper Blue.

For concert stuff, I'd suggest Live At The Old Quarter and Live At Union Chapel, both of which are double CDs, and both of which are guaranteed to make you wish you'd been at the gigs involved. Roadsongs, a live album of the other writers' songs Townes used to cover in concert, is worth having too.

Beyond that, it's a real mixed bag, so tread with caution.

[Larry Mudd]

"Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold" is one of the best poker/alchemy songs ever. Brilliant.

[madmonk28]

Townes' cover of "Dead Flowers" is surely the only time someone's covered the Stones (just about my favorite band, thank you) -- and made it a far greater song.

(You can hear it quietly in the background in the "funeral parlor" scene in Big Lebowski -- how I found him, I think) I believe that song is also playing in the very last scene, when the Dude is at the bowling alley and has his last conversation with the Stranger.

[Hunter Hawk]

I think the Walkabouts and Chris & Carla (a subset of the Walkabouts) have also covered some of his songs.

[Ichbin Dubist]

There are quite a few artists like Townes -- and a lot of them are from Texas -- who were a little too smart for 70s/80s country but too country to be folkies. Guy Clark is another one.

And I've said it here before, but Marie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJPVRw3hmk) is maybe the most depressing song ever written.

[WordMan]

There are quite a few artists like Townes -- and a lot of them are from Texas -- who were a little too smart for 70s/80s country but too country to be folkies. Guy Clark is another one.

And I've said it here before, but Marie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJPVRw3hmk) is maybe the most depressing song ever written.

Well said. Same with Steve Earle...

[Fiddle Peghead]

Anyone else a fan, and what do you recommend?

Check out "Be Here to Love Me", a documentary about Townes. You can get it on Netflix. It is terrific. Lot's of great footage, interviews, etc. And Leffan, welcome to the club!

[elelle]

Glad you found Townes; he's one of my absolute favorite artists. Agree that he's on the same level of greatness as Dylan as a singer-songwriter, but way more poignant and mournful, rooted in Southern tradition. Live at The Old Quarter is a great record to start with.

I pre-ordered the Steve Earle tribute album, and, at first was somewhat disappointed, as Earle's versions lack Townes' cut-through-your-heart purity, a bit harder. But, with listening, it's grown on me, and think it a wonderful tribute by a like-minded artist. Hearing that you came to hear about Van Zandt through that album, Leaffan,
makes me realize the real worth of it to new ears.

Other Texas artists influenced by Townes that you might like, who cover his songs, are Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, and Joe Ely, who also perform together as The Flatlanders. They're all great singer/songwriters, with intelligent lyrics and great musicianship.

Townes will make your heart ache listening, in a sad and pure way. I remember when living in Mississippi, and feeling youthful angst, sometimes I would just take off and head to the Delta, to look at the Big River at sunset, listening to cassette tapes of Townes. His music always, in it's lonesome wail, helped cut through my heart.

To Live Is To Fly is one of the most beautiful songs ever sung on up .

[elelle]

Gotta add this observation in thinkin about it abit: Townes' songs are so crafted that they stick well in your mind, and are immensely satisfying to sing, even if you aren't an avid singer.The songs really sing themselves through you. That is really exeptional for my song collecting mind.

[hellpaso]

Check out "Be Here to Love Me", a documentary about Townes. You can get it on Netflix. It is terrific. Lot's of great footage, interviews, etc. And Leffan, welcome to the club!
Oh Yeah!! Also, I do recommend, as someone previously posted, Justin Townes Earle--especially his first album. The second one isn't as good-IMHO. Glad you've found Townes! :cool:

[Clothahump]

I'm a fan of a lot of different music. I don't particularly like country, or hip-hop, or sugary pop stuff, but I appreciate and acknowledge talent when I hear it.

I had never heard of Townes Van Zandt until tonight. I was watching a Canadian TV interview with Steve Earl (whose music I admire) and found out Steve has just released a new album consisting of original Townes Van Zandt songs.

I must say, that my initial Youtube and Wikipedia research on this guy has left me wondering why in the hell I've never heard of him before. He's a singer/songwriter in the same league as Dylan ferchristsakes! I realize he's better known as a writer than a performer, but he sure sounds good on Youtube.

Anyone else a fan, and what do you recommend?

There's a name from the past.

I'm a native Houstonian. In the mid-60s, there was a place on Richmond called Sand Mountain Coffeehouse. They had a small stage and on some nights, they had open-mike. That was my first exposure to public performance, at the age of 16.

One night, this scraggly looking guy got up there and played for about a half hour. No one really paid much attention to him at the start, but at the end, we were applauding and beating on the tables. After he got off the stage, he wound up with a group of us jamming in the back room for a little while. Dude was talented and funny as hell. Yep. It was Townes.

[Chefguy]

Townes Van Zandt was an institution here in Austin. I can attest that he was both extremely talented AND his own worst enemy.

He could make phenomenal music, and then just when it seemed he was about to make a big breakthrough or get signed to a big record deal, he'd go on a months-long drinking and drug spree, and blow it.

Or, he'd give some electrifying live performances, the kind that would start to draw him a larger crowd... and then he'd alienate the crowd by either giving lackluster performances or by showing up drunk and not even remembering the lyrics to his own songs.

It's easy to understand why people loved him, but also easy to see why so many record companies and fans ultimately decided he was unreliable and more trouble than he was worth.

This jibes with the interview I heard some time ago on Public Radio. Perhaps it was with Earl. The guy was a friend of Van Zandt's and talked quite a bit about his reluctance with fame and fortune. Perhaps he had a fear of the limelight and a self-destructive nature that wouldn't allow him to be famous. Interesting character.

[MaryLiz55]

Welcome to Townes Leaffan. I love Townes Van Zandt. The first songs I heard from Townes was on his My Mother the Mountain and Flyin' Shoes way back in the early 70's. I have now heard every thing he's done. He's the best songwriter ever. And I don't understand what they mean when they say his voice isn't good. I like his voice. It makes him Townes. Unique. Its like saying Willie or Dylan can't sing. Anyway, ' Live at the Old Quarter', 'Rear View mirror', or the DVD Townes' Live In Amsterdam' will give you a large spectrum of his music.

[Ragiel]

I remember first hearing Townes (recorded) in about 1970-71, courtesy of a man I later married. It was like being hit by happy lightning. A year or so later, I met him for the first time at somebody's house and a bunch of us went out to drink and check out topless bars, and my by-then husband was not pleased. I never missed a chance to hear him live, and was never disappointed. I think I still have every album he released, definitely everything on vinyl and a number of CDs since then.

Wonderful to hear the magic is still alive! Welcome, leaffan. There are years of good music waiting!

[Bridget Burke]

There's a name from the past.

I'm a native Houstonian. In the mid-60s, there was a place on Richmond called Sand Mountain Coffeehouse. They had a small stage and on some nights, they had open-mike. That was my first exposure to public performance, at the age of 16.

One night, this scraggly looking guy got up there and played for about a half hour. No one really paid much attention to him at the start, but at the end, we were applauding and beating on the tables. After he got off the stage, he wound up with a group of us jamming in the back room for a little while. Dude was talented and funny as hell. Yep. It was Townes.

And, one night at the Mountain, I remember Townes singing the first "serious" song he'd written: "Waitin' Round To Die."

Townes did have some serious problems with depression. Quite young, his family had him committed because he was dropping classes & playing music; hardly the correct behavior for the scion of a pioneer Texas family. I think chemical shock treatment followed. Later, he said he'd probably had a happy childhood--he just couldn't remember it. So he self-medicated--with heroin, codeine & that old favorite, alchohol. Far too many of his young followers thought they, too could write excellent songs if they engaged in various excesses.

Here's John Nova Lomax on Townes (http://www.houstonpress.com/2005-05-05/music/codeine-country/)...
...before Van Zandt, our local folksingers were like those everywhere else: Kingston Trio knock-offs or rote copiers of hoary old tunes from the British, Irish, Scottish and Appalachian songbooks. After Van Zandt, local folksingers wrote original tunes about their own lives and the lives of others around them, or hell, whatever else took their fancy. What's more, Van Zandt raised the bar exponentially for original songwriters, and his tough love for his contemporaries separated the wheat -- people like Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle -- from the forgotten chaff.

John Nova's dad held a Birthday Party for Townes when he finally outlived one of his idols, Hank Williams. (They both died on New Years' Day--a fact that did not escape our notice.) Another idol was Lightnin' Hopkins; Townes played pretty good acoustic blues guitar in his earlier days. And he had a wicked sense of humor--which he showed onstage, if not in his songs. He'd introduce one of his dark masterpieces with "This is a song about living in Pasadena & commuting to Beaumont." (A pretty dark concept, for those who know the Gulf Coast.)

If anybody has not yet met Townes, I'd recommend they start with Live At The Old Quarter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_at_the_Old_Quarter,_Houston,_Texas). The earlier studio albums were overproduced, although the songs remain wonderful. After his death, releases by people who'd tried to help him, people who'd tried to rip him off & his last ex-wife include quite a bit of chaff among the wheat....

[Leaffan]

Just a follow-up note to state my appreciation for the recommendations. I think I have a few hours of "new" music to appreciate now.

Cheers.

[gigi]

To Live Is To Fly is one of the most beautiful songs ever sung on up .

I was going to mention how much I love this song! but was afraid it might be too poppy to mention, since I am most familiar with Cowboy Junkies' version.

[Buford was no angel]

And I've said it here before, but Marie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJPVRw3hmk) is maybe the most depressing song ever written.

Especially this part, which brings me to tears every time:

She's got some pain and she thinks it's a baby,
says we gotta wait and see
in my heart I know it's a little boy
hope he don't end up like me.

And I concur on the recommendation of "Be Here to Love Me".

[Southern Yankee]

Well said. Same with Steve Earle...

Lyle Lovett also.