Townes Van Zandt For The Sake of The Song

Townes Van Zandt was a one-of-a-kind artist who blazed a new trail for singer/songwriters, conjuring a sound that combined elements of country and folk with his own artful melodic sensibility, matched with lyrics that were personal, poetic, and impressionistic while remaining firmly down to earth. A new breed of Texas singer/songwriters followed Van Zandt's example, and it's all but impossible to imagine artists like Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, or Steve Earle finding their voice without his guiding influence. This two-disc set features Van Zandt's first two albums, 1968's For the Sake of the Song and 1969's Our Mother the Mountain.

Texas Troubadour is a four-disc box set that packages the late songwriter Townes Van Zandt's first seven studio albums for the Poppy and Tomato labels: For the Sake of the Song (1968); Our Mother the Mountain (1969); Townes Van Zandt (1970); Delta Momma Blues (1971); High, Low and In Between (1972); The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (1972), and Flyin' Shoes (1978). In addition, there are four studio outtakes from 1972-73 and a decent portion of Live at the Old Quarter, Houston issued in 1973. Charly reproduces the original cover art in miniature, two covers to each CD. Sound is the same as on the original CD issues, so fans who already own these albums will not be served by purchasing them again in this format. Musically, the work is superb, and since many of Van Zandt's recordings are out of print, this is a fine argument for getting them altogether. Another plus is Adam Komorowski's extensive biographical essay included in the 36-page color booklet that's loaded with photos.

Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt (1969) {Domino Recording REWIGCD55 rel 2009}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 192 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 81 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 60 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2009 Domino Recording | REWIGCD55
Country / Folk / Blues / Americana / Progressive Country

On his third album, Townes Van Zandt recut three crucial tracks from his debut album, "For The Sake Of The Song," "Waiting Around To Die," and "I'll Be Here In The Morning." It was some indication of the obscurity in which he remained enveloped, but no indication of the quality of his work. (Actually, Van Zandt rerecorded songs from his first album on his later ones because he disliked the earlier recordings.) As usual, his closely observed lyrics touched on desperate themes, notably in tbe mining ballad "Lungs," but they were still highly poetic, especially the album-closing "None But The Rain," which reflected on a failed relationship. Van Zandt's finger-picking was augmented by spare arrangements, usually featuring one added instrument for color, such as a fiddle or flute.

Townes Van Zandt - Rear View Mirror (1993) {Sugar Hill Records SHCD-1054 rel 1997}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 347 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 137 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1993, 1997 Van Zandt / Eggers / Sugar Hill Records| SHCD-1054
Folk / Country / Folk Rock / Acoustic / Progressive Country

This reissue of a 1993 live album was never intended to memorialize Townes Van Zandt (in the saddest of posthumous ironies, its Sugar Hill sleeve includes a phone number to call for bookings), but it'll do for now. Originally released by Sundown, a tiny Austin indie with limited distribution, the 17-song set finds Van Zandt in fine form – upbeat, gracious, apparently sober – and in good company, with fiddler Owen Cody and guitarist Danny Rowland adding a dimension of musical enhancement that never overwhelms the nuances of the material. As anyone who ever saw Van Zandt fall off a stool recognizes, there was no such thing as a typical Townes performance, but when he was good, no one working in the Texas troubadour tradition has ever been better.