Townes Van Zandt

http://www.citypaper.com/arts/review.asp?rid=11676

The man was/is a genius. His sensitive Pisces nature comes thru in his lyrics and voice and breaks your heart and makes it ache.

For the life of me I will NEVER understand how all the music people can give him his “props” and kudo’s and yet fame escaped him when he was alive.

HE IS VERY UNDER APPRECIATED AND IT’S A SHAME!

I found these photos of Twownes while looking at some recent Mellencamp ones on a fan’s flickr site.

Five in all, dating from 1994. Two are with Joe Ely.

the guy was an unbelievably gifted songwriter/guitar player/singer/story teller/(joke teller…?;)
just terribly sad how his life played out

@LWjetta wrote:

A new book coming out next month entitled ” I’ll Be Here in the Morning”.
Lucinda is one of the contributor’s.

http://www.tamupress.com/product/ill-be-here-in-the-morning,6918.aspx

lwj[attachment=0:183wl4v1]Townes Van Zandt.jpg[/attachment:183wl4v1]

The hard cover book is now out and is available from Amazon.
Read Lucinda’s contribution to the book and how Townes influenced her career.

Here is an excerpt.
LUCINDA WILLIAMS
I love “If I Needed You.” That’s one of his songs that really stands out. The melody and the simplicity and what the song says make it work. It sounds traditional, like an old folk song. Sometimes those are the ones that people identify with, because it sounds familiar even when you listen to it for the first time. There’s one song I wrote, “Jackson,” off Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, that’s probably one of the most closely influenced by Townes. In fact, when I recorded it, Steve Earle played guitar, and he said the way it was played was like a Townes kind of sound. You can certainly hear Townes in Steve’s music. Townes had his own way of playing and phrasing.
I like his darker songs, too, like the one I covered on thePoettribute album, “Nothin’.” I really buried myself in his songs when I was trying to pick one to play for that album. It gave me perspective on his writing because I just pored through tons of his CDs. The darkness and the mysteriousness of “Nothin’” drew me to it; I like songs that are dark and brave at the same time. “Tecumseh Valley” is a great one, of course, and “Pancho and Lefty.” Those are ones that people recognize. “Pancho and Lefty” is a brilliant song, and it tells a story full of wonderful imagery.
I met Townes in 1973 in Nashville. It was when I was first heading out on my own with my guitar and starting that whole thing. I met Townes briefly through some other people. Then I ended up later in Austin, and I would see him from time to time when I was there and living in Houston.
The full article
http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/12/read-an-excerpt-from-ill-be-here-in-the-morning-the-songwriting-legacy-of-townes-van-zandt/

Listen to Lu’s cover of Nothin’
http://www.box.com/shared/static/4orqhv4vs3.mp3

Townes life ended on New Year’s Day 1997 (R.I.P.)

lwj

http://johannasvisions.com/townes-van-zandt-the-10-best-songs-according-to-hallgeir/