Retrospective
Thomas Alan Orr | Morristown, IN United States | 09/14/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"One isn't drawn to the music of Townes Van Zandt because of the voice, to be sure. Despite his creaky pipes, the man was at his best with nothing but a six-string and an urgent need to sing. This retrospective collection is a good overview of his life's work. He left us too soon. The songs work their way into your memory and stay there--the kind of music that gets you through the night. Like any compilation, this one isn't perfect, but it covers the span of his career, featuring the standards for which he was famous and some lesser known gems. Fans often note the dark side of his music, but there is something wonderfully affirmative in many of these songs--the tenacity of a human spirit that overcomes the darkness by naming it and refusing to quit.
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