Townes Van Zandt
Album: The Late Great Townes Van Zandt
Label: Charly
Tracks: 15
Website: http://www.charly.co.uk

So Charly records press on with their exploration of the Townes Van Zandt back catalogue with the release of "The Late Great..." - a fresh digital re-mastering of one of Townes’ finest recordings. Originally released in 1972, and widely acknowledged as one of the most consistent and rewarding albums of Van Zandt’s fabled and often controversial career, this re-issue throws in 4 bonus tracks for aficionados with early mixes of "If I Needed You" and "Poncho And Lefty" and alternate mixes of "Snow Don’t Fall" and "Heavenly Houseboat Blues" and there is also insightful and poignant sleeve notes by executive producer and long-time Townes’ buddy Kevin Eggers to add gravitas and understanding.

Understanding and recognising that most of Townes’ work is autobiographical is key to appreciating his music and the stories that he weaves with consummate ease. There are real loves with the real joy and the real pain that inevitably follows. There are precious memories. There are the triumphs over adversity, the failures. Welcome to the real and sometimes frightening world of Townes Van Zandt. A drifter at heart, his only possessions were a Martin guitar and it’s velvet lined case. The little compartment inside the case held all the treasures he held dear: small simple objects like broken coloured glass, guitar picks, finger picks, a ring or two from a past and present girlfriend, indian beads, a joint clip, a worn paperback of Robert Frost, keys to a lost lovers apartment, a piece of red silk….and the music on this re-release mirrors that apparent simplicity.

In those days, as Kevin Eggers sadly ruminates, Van Zandt was an artist without an audience, a prince with no commercial appeal, and despite national television exposure and numerous club dates, there was little public appreciation of him. Thankfully that has changed, and it is indeed heartening to see him finally now being recognised as the great artist that he was. Listening to latter day americana / country artists, it’s impossible to underestimate the influence that he has had not just on his home nations music, but worldwide in general. Go to Nashville and he is all-pervasive.

Although this album was originally recorded in Nashville, the songs themselves were written on the 4th floor of Eggers Townhouse in Brooklyn Heights, New York, where Townes would live when he was not on the road or in Houston. His view was a garden and the stained glass windows of Grace church and he shared the room with two parakeets, flowers and sunshine. And these songs reflect that sparsity. Emmylou’s cover of "If I Needed You" has in time become a standard, and here in the male voice the song is just as lonesome, just as aching, just as heartbreaking. A real gut-wrencher.

Opening song "No Lonesome Tune" is high on irony, tongue firmly wedged in cheek as he opines "I ain’t gonna sing no lonesome tune, ah babe I’m a comin’ soon". Ironic as "Snow Don’t Fall", "If I Needed You", and "Sad Cinderella" are all based upon similar premises of break-up and make-up. And it’s always been a given that the best songs are often the simplest, and never has that proven more true than with Townes Van Zandt. There are no guitar histrionics here, or vocal pyrotechnics. Just great songs. It really is as simple as that - and that’s the genius of the man I guess. He makes it all seem so natural and effortless. Songs like "Heavenly Houseboat Blues" must surely be the starting point for any aspiring singer-songwriter.

It has to be said that the record label, Charly, have done a great job on the re-mastering front too. Sometimes with digital you tend to lose some of the feel of the original recordings, but here it’s clear that the project has been handled with due reverence and sympathy all round, and if anything the Townes legend has been greatly enhanced by the clarity of sound presented, and the provenance behind the making of.

His untimely demise at the tender (in terms of songwriting) age of 53, at the hands of years of substance abuse was a sad epitaph to a songwriter who has been rightly elevated to legendary status. We can only speculate as to the profligacy and quality of his output would that he were still alive today, but based upon the evidence provided by "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt", here is a man who would have few peers in the realms of songwriting. This album is testament to that.

Ken Brown
www.squarerootspromotions.co.uk