Songs of Townes Van Zandt

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.

Townes Van Zandt - Live at Union Chapel, London, England 1994 (2005) {2CD Tomato TOM-3019}
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© 1994, 2005 Egge / Tomato | TOM-3019
Folk / Country / Contemporary Folk / Acoustic / Progressive Country

On Sunday 24th April 1994, in a leafless corner of north London, one thousand people came to see this legendary artist sing a selection of the greatest contemporary folk songs ever written. It was a triumph musically, with Townes on stunning form….on this night Townes was in total control of everything and everyone. His playing and singing were exemplary and the beauty of the songs struck right to the heart of everyone in the audience.

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.

Townes Van Zandt - The Nashville Sessions (1993) {Rhino R2 71542}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 183 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 73 Mb
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© 1993 Tomato Records / Rhino Records | R2 71542
Folk / Country / Contemporary Folk / Acoustic / Progressive Country

The Nashville Sessions was a project begun for Poppy in the early '70s, but languished in the vaults for over 20 years, finally being completed and released in the early '90s, and remains one of Van Zandt's most interesting and mysterious records. When Poppy Records went bankrupt in 1973, it left Townes Van Zandt with two unreleased albums. One was Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas, which was released by Tomato, Poppy's successor, in 1977. The other was a studio recording that languished for 20 years until being issued by Rhino/Tomato in 1993 under the title The Nashville Sessions.