Search - Various Artists :: Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt

One of the Best I Own!

michael martin | Pittsburgh, PA | 10/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

A Great Tribute to America's Poet of Loss and Longing

John Cabral | SF Bay Area | 12/11/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

3-5 stars really, depending on if you are a TVZ fanatic

mrs x | 04/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."