Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
The songs of Townes Van Zandt are destined to be for folk artists what the works of Gershwin are to saloon singers. The likes of "Pancho & Lefty," "If I Needed You," and "To Live's to Fly" are the quintessence of troubadour music, thanks to the somber grace of the late Lone Star legend's language and the engaging simplicity of his melodies. Poet gathers a talented assortment of Van Zandt contemporaries and apostles to pay tribute to the man by lovingly reinterpreting his songs. Steve Earle electrifies "Two Girls" while Billy Joe Shaver tackles "White Freightliner Blues" with similar fervor. "Tower Song," one of the most poignant breakup songs ever written, is revived by Nanci Griffith, and Willie Nelson provides a conversational version of "Marie." Stalwart fans of these gems will always prefer hearing the originals and live versions performed by their composer, but they'll find plenty to respect and enjoy in this lovingly compiled salute. --Steven Stolder

Tracks:

To Live's To Fly - Guy Clark
Tower Song - Nanci Griffith
White Freightliner Blues - Billy Joe Shaver
Highway Kind - Cowboy Junkies
Snake Song - Emmylou Harris
If I Needed You - Ray Benson
Loretta - John Prine
Nothin' - Lucinda Williams
Blue Wind Blew - The Flatlanders
Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold - Robert Earl Keen
Two Girls - Steve Earle And The Dukes
Marie - Willie Nelson
Pancho & Lefty - Delbert McClinton
Waitin' 'Round To Die - Pat Haney
My Proud Mountains - John T. Van Zandt

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

The songs of Townes Van Zandt are destined to be for folk artists what the works of Gershwin are to saloon singers. The likes of "Pancho & Lefty," "If I Needed You," and "To Live's to Fly" are the quintessence of troubadour music, thanks to the somber grace of the late Lone Star legend's language and the engaging simplicity of his melodies. Poet gathers a talented assortment of Van Zandt contemporaries and apostles to pay tribute to the man by lovingly reinterpreting his songs. Steve Earle electrifies "Two Girls" while Billy Joe Shaver tackles "White Freightliner Blues" with similar fervor. "Tower Song," one of the most poignant breakup songs ever written, is revived by Nanci Griffith, and Willie Nelson provides a conversational version of "Marie." Stalwart fans of these gems will always prefer hearing the originals and live versions performed by their composer, but they'll find plenty to respect and enjoy in this lovingly compiled salute. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

sheesh.......2007-06-21

Somebody stole mine and I just came back online to get it again and it's out of print and expensive as all get out. OK, it's also worth it, but . . .

3-5 stars really, depending on if you are a TVZ fanatic.......2006-04-10

If you have listened to TVZ do his own music exclusively, nothing really will ever compare, and this album may never rise to those expectations. But it will still be a good album for you, one to have for your collection.

But if you like a lot of these other artists from previous work as well as TVZ, this is a great album. After a couple of listens, I have come to like the Cowboy Junkies interpretation the best. It is the most different from the original, but I don't buy these kinds of albums to hear karaoke. The best way to do cover songs is through your own interpretation, not imitation. This is a very good album on those terms.

A Great Tribute to America's Poet of Loss and Longing.......2003-12-12

This tribute to Townes Van Zandt could not be more accurately titled: POET. The songs selected for this compilation prove as thoughtfully chosen as the artists who contribute, each emphasizing the power and beauty of TVZ's verse. He is America's greatest poet of loss and longing, as this recording makes apparent. There are few and very minor disappointments here: Cowboy Junkies and Robert Earl Keen offer interesting but ultimately uninspired versions of HIGHWAY KIND and MR. MUDD & MR. GOLD, versions that pale when compared to the originals. Billy Joe Shaver and Pat Haney, on the other hand, virtually seem to channel TVZ on WHITE FREIGHTLINER BLUES and WAITIN' 'ROUND TO DIE respectively, failing, perhaps, to make the songs their own, but capturing the spirit and heart of the originals beautifully. As I write, I listen to Steve Earle's terrific rendition of one my favorite TVZ songs, TWO GIRLS. It occurs to me that Earle gets the balance of this great tune just right, making it his own, while honoring the original. For my tastes, the stand-outs here are by Guy Clark, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, and Willie Nelson. Each of these artists, much like TVZ himself, have voices that could break your heart just reading the phone book. Clark's lovely TO LIVE'S TO FLY, in particular, can leave me blubbering with just a casual listen: "It's goodbye to all my friends/It's time to go again/But think on all the poetry/And pickin' down the line." The respect and love each of these artists feels for both Townes and his work proves evident in every line, every chord. A brief introduction by Susanna Clark (excerpted from the book, SONG BUILDER) reads like a great American short story. Nothing could be more appropriate for a collection like this. With an ouvre like that of Townes, of course, there are bound to be omissions, songs that we know should have but didn't make the cut; let's hope for a sequel.

One of the Best I Own!.......2003-10-11

This is one of the all-time best CDs I own. I discovered Townes through other artists and through soundtracks -- smatterings here and there that lead me to the gradual realization that he was one of my favorite songwriters. Frankly, I think he's a better songwriter than almost anyone, but a better songwriter than he is a performer as well -- and this album may prove me right. From John Prine's sweet, lazy cover of "Loretta" to Emmy Lou's chilling rendition of "Snake Song" -- pure folky golk. Guy Clark's cover of "To Live's To Fly" beats the Cowboy Junkies' cover (and I LOVE when they do it). There isn't a single track on this album that I don't jones for when I leave it out of the CD changer for a few days. There's a reason the used copies are so expensive!

... that you don't know what you've got 'til he's gone ?.......2002-08-29

I suspect -- and hope -- that this CD will bring the powerful songs of TVZ to a wider audience. While Townes was the quintessential "songwriter's songwriter", his recordings never reached the wider audience enjoyed by some of the artists represented on 'Poet' .

Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, and John Prine -- all heard here-- are household names by comparison. If you like these artists, I would encourage you to give this album a listen. In the past several years I have been fortunate to hear these three artists in live performance, as well as Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Delbert McClinton, Steve Earle, and the Flatlanders. Besides being on 'Poet', what do all of these terrific artists have in common ? Each one of them at some point in their performance said (more or less), "Now we're going to play one for Townes." Anyone who commands that degree of respect in this company deserves a wider audience.

Notable cuts: If there was ever a blacker song written than "Marie", I've never heard it. (Who else could write, "she just rolled over and went to Heaven, with my little boy safe inside" ?) Willie Nelson gives it a powerful, minimalist treatment here. Nanci Griffith sometimes sets my listening ear on edge, but she absolutely nails "Tower Song" here. Maybe I have heard Guy Clark too often in live performance to be objective, but the emotional undercurrents in "To Live is to Fly" are quite moving. Bravo to Lucinda Williams for "Nothing".

Not so notable: Townes' most widely known song, "Pancho and Lefty", is covered frequently, often badly. Delbert McClinton continues that tradition here. Cuts by the Cowboy Junkies and Robert Earl Keene are forgettable.

If you're not familiar with the music of TVZ, this is a terrific introduction by some artists you probably do know. Then treat yourself to the original with "Live at the Old Quarter" (young Townes) and "Rear View Mirror" (Townes sounding nearly bone-tired).

... and if you appreciate TVZ's music, then start listening to Guy Clark, Townes' longtime friend and traveling partner. He's another songwriting master who is still with us. Let's not let another treasure slip away under-appreciated.

Average customer rating:

Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt
Various Artists
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Country Folk | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000649FW
Release Date: 2002-05-23

Tracks:

To Live Is to Fly - Guy Clark
Tower Song - Nanci Griffith
White Freightliner Blues - Billy Joe Shaver
Highway Kind - Cowboy Junkies
Snake Song - Emmylou Harris
If I Needed You - Ray Benson
Loretta - John Prine
Nothin' - Lucinda Williams
Blue Wind Blew - The Flatlanders
Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold - Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Two Girls - Steve Earle & the Dukes
Marie - Willie Nelson
Pancho & Lefty - Delbert McClinton
Waitin' 'Round to Die
My Proud Mountains

Album Description

'Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that'. (Steve Earle). Great tribute from 15 artists including Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Billy Joe Shaver, Cowboy Junkies, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle and the Dukes and more. Gatefold digipak. 2002 release on Catfish Records.

Average customer rating:

Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt
Various Artists
Manufacturer: TVZ Records/Fat Possum
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Country Folk | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000E5KUCO
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Tracks:

To Live Is to Fly - Guy Clark
Tower Song - Nanci Griffith
White Freightliner Blues - Billy Joe Shaver
Highway Kind - Cowboy Junkies
Snake Song - Emmylou Harris
If I Needed You - Ray Benson
Loretta - John Prine
Nothin' - Lucinda Williams
Blue Wind Blew - The Flatlanders
Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold - Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Two Girls - Steve Earle & the Dukes
Marie - Willie Nelson
Pancho & Lefty - Delbert McClinton
Waitin' 'Round to Die
My Proud Mountains

Music Album:

Music Album