Flute Daydreams

Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt (1969) {Domino Recording REWIGCD55 rel 2009}
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© 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.

As he proved in his production of David Benoit's 1989 smash Urban Daydreams, the younger brother of Dave Grusin is a master at texturing various synth textures with the acoustic piano. On his solo debut Grusin once again does a remarkable job of this, mixing up his styles along the way to include bits and pieces of funk, Brazilian and mainstream jazz, along with healthy doses of the obligatory pop jazz formulas. Though the ballads here, such as "Oracle," are likable, Grusin the player is most at home on funky and frisky numbers like the stealthy "Catwalk," which features some tasty acoustic improvisations layered sparingly amidst a contagious synth groove. The best cut is another funkfest, "Graffiti Bird," which features the very punchy solo chops of saxman Eric Marienthal.