Steve Earle - Townes

Do I really have to convince you to buy a record comprised of Townes Van Zandt from Steve Earle? I want to hear Steve doing songs with turntablists and Tom Morello like I want to replace all my records with Gaslight Anthem bootlegs, but this is a project I can condone whole-heartedly. I'm sure Steve is resting a little easier now that he has the JS-NYC seal of approval.

Steve Earle could have very easily gone the Townes route. He made a pretty good run of it, dropping out of music altogether for a bit to wallow in all the darkness that South Nashville had to offer. That self-proclaimed 'holiday in the ghetto' as a crackhead seemed to assuage (most of) his self-destructive urges, but he's been close enough to the TV path to be able to sing the fifteen covers here with more authenticity than the average pretender to the hard-core troubadour throne. Quicksilver Dreams Of Maria is a high point, as is the duet with his son Justin (Townes) Earle on Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold, but everything on Townes is harrowingly top-notch. Oddly enough, I think Steve's best recorded Townes cover is the version of Tecumseh Valley from Train A Comin' , but there is nothing bad about Townes. 

Here's a tracklisting:

1. Pancho and Lefty 4:01
2. White Freightliner Blues 3:27
3. Colorado Girl 3:35
4. Where I Lead Me 3:29
5. Lungs 2:18 *
6. No Place To Fall 2:52
7. Loretta 3:14
8. Brand New Companion 5:12
9. Rake 3:22
10. Delta Momma Blues 5:14
11. Marie 4:52
12. Don’t Take It Too Bad 3:12
13. Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold 2:17
14. (Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria 3:20
15. To Live Is To Fly 3:40

I'd like to see a companion DVD.  Townes won't be out until May 12, but here's a link to it at New West anyway. Keep track of Steve Earle here. Official Townes Van Zandt site is here.

R