Search - Townes Van Zandt :: For the Sake of Song (Dig)

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/13/2023...

Nope!

The First from the Songwriter's Songwriter

Christopher Smith | Atlanta, Georgia | 05/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is my second TVZ purchase, the first was the bargain 2-for-1 CD that has High, Low and In-Between and The Late Great Townes Van Zandt together. That, I believe, is a great place to begin if you want to get started on what will be a lifetime of listening pleasure. You'll soon want more though, and I'd recommend this one right along with the 2-for-one, since the same songwriting genius is here in abundance, but the production is slightly different and it will give you another perspective on the atmosphere that surrounds the stories his songs tell. On this CD, TVZ's voice seems to be set back from the microphone a bit and also seems to carry a slight echo with it. It lends a mystical kind of aura to the title track, "Many a Fine Lady," " Sad Cinderella" and "16 Summers, Fifteen Falls." There's a depth and emotional weight to these songs that you don't find in too many places or people, but he can also crack you up with something like "Talkin' Karate Blues," which is a lot like the song "No Deal" from "H,L and I-B." Also, it's great to compare his earlier version here of "Sad Cinderella" with his later interpretation of it on "The Late Great." His classic "Tecumseh Valley" offered another perspective too, because before this I'd heard versions by Steve Earle and Nanci Griffith. Townes has no trouble footing it with these two, who are no slouches when it comes to telling a story in song.



Truly this man is the reigning saint of the movement that seemed to evolve in the early to mid-seventies, with the Flatlanders, Guy Clark, and Billy Joe Shaver, and which continues with Robert Earl Keene, Steve Earle, Buddy and Julie Miller, the Cowboy Junkies and Dwight Yoakam. Nothing better than drinking from the source..."