Townes Van Zandt fans?

Townes was an excellent singer/storyteller/songwriter of the Tex Mex folk genre who left us way too early. You need to exercise some care though when you sample his recordings, as there are too many poorly recorded live albums that have been released. Some recordings that I can recommend are:

1. Texas Rain: The Texas Hill Country Recordings

These represent some of Townes' best songs that he recorded as duets with a number of folk/country performers. The recording quality is excellent, as well. The songs & duet partners are:

1. If I Needed You - (with Emmylou Harris)
2. Pancho & Lefty - (with Freddy Fender/Rubin Ramos & The Texas Revolution/Doug Sahm/Augie Meyers)
3. Waiting Around To Die - (with Calvin Russell)
4. Blue Wind Blew - (with Jerry Jeff Walker)
5. Kathleen - (with The Chromatics)
6. No Lonesome Tune - (with Willie Nelson)
7. Brother Flower - (with Kimmie Rhodes)
8. Two Girls - (with Doug Sahm)
9. Marie - (with Willie Nelson)
10. Quicksilver Daydreams Of Maria - (with Freddy Fender/Rubin Ramos & The Texas Revolution/Doug Sahm/Augie Meyers)
11. Snowin' On Raton - (with James McMurty)
12. At My Window - (with Kathy Mattea)

2. Texas Troubadour

This is a 4 CD box set that represents much of Townes' best work, such as Tecumseh Valley (later covered by Nancy Griffith); Pancho and Lefty; and Kathleen.

If you like Townes' work, another artist to check out is Bill Staines. Bill has a greatest hits collection (The Second Million Miles) coming out this month.

Regards, Rich

For a while, it seemed that there was a new Townes' release everytime I went to a store ... and some sounded just terrible ... like they were recorded in the 30's or 40's or on a portable cassette recorder (think of Elvis' Hayride Recordings or some of the Louis Armstrong compilations). And then I read somewhere about his estate being a mess and different companies owning and/or fighting over the rights to his songs.

If you pick up "Texas Rain" you will not be disappointed. There was also a tribute album that came out a few years back that is pretty OK ... especially if you like Townes' stories and his way with words.

As for Nancy's cover of "Tecumseh Valley" on "Other Voices" ... kind of a shame really. I always felt that Arlo dropped the ball as his voice didn't really convey the sense of quiet despair and inability to change one's fate that the song's main character was living (a girl in some dusty small town that goes from being an abused child to the local call girl). On "Marie" from the "Texas Rain" collection though, you can't help but be moved by Willie Nelson's telling the story of a down on his luck migrant worker, who is defeated by life as he can't even provide life's basics for his pregnant girlfriend/wife and she winds up dying. As you can guess, many of Townes's topics are about the underdogs and the struggle that life can be. Very powerful stuff nonetheless.

Regards, Rich

I believe "Texas Rain" is a CD only release. Tomato Records hasn't done many new vinyl releases since the late 80's/early 90's. The CD has very good sonics and performances, so it's worth picking up.

Regards, Rich

Just a note ... you really need to be a fan of Steve Earle and his sound to appreciate this album. These are definitely Steve's versions of TVZ's songs, as opposed to an album of covers. I am not Steve's biggest fan and I have had a difficult time listening to/ getting my head around this album.

Regards,

Rich