Search - Steve Earle :: Townes

When the Student Becomes the Teacher: B+

Lara Chetkovich | Houston, TX United States | 05/15/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Disclaimer: I am a HUGE fan of Earle and TVZ. I have to admit I was a little skeptical of an entire tribute album to Townes; it's almost become an Americana prerequisite to cover a TVZ song in the name of "not forgetting," which Townes would freakin hate. But if anyone SHOULD be anointed to record a tribute album to Townes, it feels right to be Earle. If you have seen the 1975 film, "Heartworn Highways," which has a Christmas scene of Guy Clark, TVZ and Earle when he was about 20, drop-dead gorgeous, a guitar and songwriting prodigy, you can understand that the mentoring went both ways.



All of the "bad" songs on this album are the ones that add "too much" to the songs; the beauty of Townes' writing is its focus on guitar melody and spare vocals, the poetry, the stories. Overproduction and over-instrumentation kill a few of the songs, with the exception of "Loretta," which rocks, and Earle's bluegrass interpretations of songs, which allow instruments to pick up the richness of melodies without interfering with the vocals.



Earle doesn't do a very good job with Townes' story songs. The cd definitely gets better as it goes along. Best tracks: "Colorado Girl," "Loretta," "Brand New Companion," "Rake," "Delta Momma Blues," "Don't Take it Too Bad," "Quicksilver Dreams," and "To Live Is To Fly."



1. Pancho and Lefty: the best thing about Earle's version is that it is down-tempo, the same tempo Townes played it when he was strung out before he died in 97 but picked a little stronger and simpler by Earle. Earle's vocals are expressive but interfere with the sparseness of the story; the song is so over-covered that this version doesn't add much to Earle's repertoire or translate the flat, dusty vocal that made the original believable.



2. White Freightliner Blues. This is an uptempo, bluegrass version, another over-covered song, not too much new here that blew me away, the vocals are a little muddled.



3. Colorado Girl. One of the better songs on the cd. Great picking, great vocals. Best cover I've ever heard of this song--it fits Earle like a glove.



4. Where I Lead Me. One of the most rearranged and overproduced songs on the album--I generally don't like Earle's use of drum mixers--it overpowers the vocals and guitar. Doesn't hold a candle to Eric Taylor's version.



5. Lungs. Another rearranged and overproduced song--the intro guitar lead is great but like Where I Lead Me, the drums are droning and make the song boring except for the guitar solos.



6. No Place to Fall. Some nice instrumentation here, but it's too busy--the lyrics of this sweet love song don't shine through at all.



7. Loretta. This is one of my favorite Townes' songs, and this cover rocks! It has a driving quarter-note drum/bass like Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk," with Allison Moorer and Justin doing background vocals. John Prine does a great cover of this song, but this song is one of the best on the cd.



8. Brand New Companion. Very bluesy version. Awesome. You gotta remember that Allison Moorer is his brand new companion, so he had to knock this out of the park.



9. Rake. Earle's picking and vocals at their finest. Townes=channeled. This should have been the first song on the cd.



10. Delta Momma Blues. Upbeat bluegrass interpretation with plunky banjo, mandola and mandolin, great cover.



11. Marie. Willie Nelson's cover of this song is pretty hard to beat. The guitar picking is great, but the vocals are slurred, hard to follow, and the story gets lost in a heavy bass/snare beat. Great song, baaad cover, imo.



12. Don't Take it Too Bad. Another bluegrass interpretation--fantastic.



13. (Quicksilver Dreams of) Maria. Beautiful cover--great picking and singing.



14. To Live Is To Fly. "Think of all the poetry and the picking down the line." Allison Moorer comes in on harmony vocal, Steve's picking and phrasing are perfect, great cover and way to end the tribute--tearjerker."

Lots of love but little to add

A guy from Philly | Philadelphia, PA United States | 05/14/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"These are faithful renditions of some of the most amazing songs ever written. I'm not sure that Earle makes any of these songs his own, though. When Willie Nelson does Pancho & Lefty, it's something different and wonderful, but in general I think I would just as soon listen to the originals than Earle's versions.

A few exceptions though. Because Townes had wrecked his voice by the time he did Marie, Earle's version is more musical - and better than Willie's talky cover. Similar situation with Rake. With Lungs, Earle does change the arrangement quite a bit, but in a way that reminds me of what I like least about Earle's recent material."

Master songwriter covering some of the greatest songs ever w

Chris Edwards | East Texas | 06/02/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been waiting with bated breath and trembling knees for this record to drop, and though I am still wrapping my head around some of the material, I'd have to say it is a success. I am a huge Steve Earle fan, and as a songwriter myself, he is a big influence (especially his earlier stuff and his post-prison bluegrass material) but the idea of covering a whole album's worth of material by the late, greater than great Townes Van Zandt is a daunting prospect for anyone. Townes' material ranks not only among some of the greatest American songwriting of all time (and that's not just inside of the country and folk genres, but in the whole American musical canon) but his lyrics are profound pieces of literature on their own merit, and Steve Earle is one of few musicians qualified enough to take on such a task; Guy Clark and Jerry Jeff Walker probably being the only other two, and we've all heard Shotgun Willie cover a few of his buddy Townes' tunes, but none of those guys had quite the connection with Townes as Steve Earle did. Although Steve Earle will NEVER be as great a lyricist as Townes, he has written some damn fine songs and this album should breathe new life into both his own recording career (haven't been impressed with most of his post-1996 output) and bring Townes' legacy to a larger audience...hopefully.

In the pole position is "Pancho and Lefty," a song so oft-covered one might wonder why Steve Earle decided to include it. It works mostly, but is far from the highlight of the record. Steve Earle's raspy, survivor's voice makes "White Freighliner Blues" all the more poignant, and it comes across as just that--a survivor's tale, or a warning of sorts, which is probably how Townes envisioned it. The bluegrass approach used on "White Freightliner" and a couple of other tunes works really well for both parties--Steve Earle sounds incredible as a bluegrasser, and the bluegrass influence in Townes' own sound is an element that isn't discussed as much these days.

I haven't been impressed with the electronic direction of some of Steve's recent music, but that approach works on "Lungs," oddly enough. Purists might wonder "WTF?", but Townes' songs are so good that they can be interpreted with any sort of arrangement and still sound classic, and Tom Morello's snarling electric guitar brings out a dimension in the song that makes sense. Steve's old-timey style of pickin' that was last really showcased on "Train a' Comin'" is brought out on quite a few tracks here, namely his rendition of the harrowing "Marie," which I now like just as much as Willie Nelson's incredible cover from a few years back.

There are several great performances on here. The bluesy, roadhouse sound of "Where I Lead Me" is ear-catching, as is the new take Steve does on "Loretta," one of Townes' more overlooked, lighthearted tunes. The bottom line on this one is, if you love Townes or Steve Earle, there's at least a couple of things on this album you'll really love.

In a day and age where so-called "songwriters" are too busy catering to the lowest common denominator and filling pop-country albums with lunkheaded lyrics and elementary melodies pertaining to the same old subjects, this album is a breath of fresh air, and as I wrote earlier, will hopefully bring some much-overdue attention to the greatest songwriter who ever lived vis-a-vis his protege. Hopefully, if this album is a big success, it'll entice buyers to check out the catalog of the master, himself (I recommend "Live at the Old Quarter," "Our Mother the Mountain," "The Late, Great Townes Van Zandt" and "At My Window").

Townes Van Zandt was truly a poet, and if you're not touched in some way by any of these songs, you're truly a body without a soul, and should go back to your Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts records."