(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle - Townes Van Zandt, Davis, Jimmie
No Deal
Blaze's Blues
Darcy Farrow - Townes Van Zandt, Campbell, Thomas E.
My Proud Mountains
Wreck on the Highway - Townes Van Zandt, Dixon, Dorsey
Rake
Ira Hayes - Townes Van Zandt, LaFarge, Peter
When considering the catalog of the late, great Townes Van Zandt, The Highway Kind is a dicey matter. All but three of the tracks are cut live, but these selections represent a weathered and weakened man. His picking isn't... more » quite so fleet; his phrasing is fleeting. Listen to his version of Texas sidekick Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues" to hear a man not long for this world. Still, somehow the notes that fall flat are the ones that ring most true. Which just goes to show that perhaps the best epitaph for Townes Van Zandt is the same he'd given the outlaw Lefty in his most famous song: "They only let him slip away out of kindness, I suppose." --Steven Stolder« less
When considering the catalog of the late, great Townes Van Zandt, The Highway Kind is a dicey matter. All but three of the tracks are cut live, but these selections represent a weathered and weakened man. His picking isn't quite so fleet; his phrasing is fleeting. Listen to his version of Texas sidekick Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues" to hear a man not long for this world. Still, somehow the notes that fall flat are the ones that ring most true. Which just goes to show that perhaps the best epitaph for Townes Van Zandt is the same he'd given the outlaw Lefty in his most famous song: "They only let him slip away out of kindness, I suppose." --Steven Stolder
Perhaps the finest live recording from the late years...
Richard R. Johnson | Houston, TX United States | 01/11/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you want to experience the Townes Van Zandt of strong voice and nimble guitar pickin', go straight for one of his early live recordings. However, if you want an exceptional live document from the end of Townes' career, where he "wore his skin like iron" and his "breath was hard as kerosene," then this is the cd for you. To hear the aged Townes sing a song like "Lost Highway" with its lyric "O'er a life of sin, I paid the cost," you can't help but feel like that man understood those lyrics like no other, and it's a kick in the gut. His version of "Ira Hayes" will tear you to pieces, and the song "Highway Kind" will leave you slack-jawed. It's the honesty of these recordings - warts and all - that leave me in amazement, because after all those hard years, Townes was running strictly on emotion."
Tvz's songwriting at it's starkest
Richard R. Johnson | 08/05/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Yes, his guitar work isn't as great as is used to be, and his voice sounds downright pathetic at times, but every track on this CD is beautiful. I enjoyed this album a hell of a lot more than _A Far Cry from Dead_ because of its starkness. A Far Cry... just seemed to slick for TVZ. I think this album captures the real essence of his work."
Real music for real people
ron sterzinger | MINNEAPOLIS MN | 03/03/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"townes is probably the greatest folk-contry blues artist of all time. his voice as well as his songs are so sad and sorrowful. two songs that i love the most are dublin blues and lookin for you. if you like the blues or want to hear real country instead of the shlock that is called popularly country today you must do yourself a favorite and listen to this. when the woman i loved started cheatin on me this c-d saved me...'nuff said"