Eerily mirroring the demise of one of his biggest heroes Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt died prematurely on New Year’s Day 1997.
Though he struggled on to the age of 52 and bequeathed a magnificent back catalogue to the world, the tall, gangling Texan’s life had been hard fought. Punctuating exemplary albums such as ‘Our Mother The Mountain’, ‘Delta Momma Blues’ and ‘High, Low & In Between’ were broken marriages, periods of homelessness and the collapse of his long-time record label (Poppy), not to mention the attentions of those all too-familiar demons (drink and drugs) which frequently threatened to bring him to his knees.
Van Zandt’s reputation has gained ground significantly in Americana circles in the fifteen years since his death and a slew of tribute albums have inevitably begun to do the rounds. The latest is this self-explanatory nine-track release featuring three US singer/ songwriters, SCOTT KELLY, STEVE VON TILL (Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot) and SCOTT ‘WINO’ WEINRICH (The Obsessed/ Saint Vitus), who have previously played these songs together in different configurations on European tours over the years.
Focussing on the blackest, blasted songs from Van Zandt’s oeuvre, ‘Songs of...’ doesn’t have the same breadth of vision or element of sonic surprise as the Righteous imprint’s 2010 Various Artists collection ‘Riding The Range’, but it’s still a valid, intriguing collection. Framed primarily in sparse, acoustic clothes, there are a few little electric shocks (a smidgen of Thin White Rope-style feedback here, the odd dense organ there), but precious little gets in the way of the abyss-staring nature of these poetic, but unrelentingly bleak tunes.
Caressed by Von Till’s funereally low vocal, a poignant version of ‘If I Needed You’ gives you some idea what to expect, though it’s arguably eclipsed by a broken-hearted’ n’ beaten ‘St. John The Gambler’, the nightmarish Biblical imagery of ‘Lungs’ (“seal the river at its mouth, take the water prisoner/ fill the sky with screams and cries, bathe the sky in fiery answers”) and the fatalistic ‘Black Crow Blues’ (“lay me down with a quick said goodbye/ pour in the black Texas mud”), where all hopes of redemption seem few and far between.
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Even though it’s devoid of the striking ‘rattler’ percussion sounds of the original, a spine-chillingly creepy version of the already menacing ‘Snake Song’ (“ain’t no mercy in my smilin’/ only fangs and sweet beguilin’”) is probably the LP’s finest moment, though by the time you reach the seven-minute version of the already desolate ‘Tecumseh Valley’ you desperately need to feel the sun’s healing rays on your face.
‘Songs of Townes Van Zandt’, then, won’t do the great man’s posthumous legend any harm, but it’s a tad one-dimensional. While there’s no denying the bitter, sombre power of these songs, a tilt at the romantic, poetic Townes of ‘Quicksilver Dreams of Maria’ or ‘Tower Song’ or lobbing in one of his wry, tongue-in-cheek selections (‘Talking Karate Blues,’ for example) would have helped leaven the darkness and present the casual listener with a more rounded picture. The aficionado could do worse than take a punt, but if you’re new to Townes, the Charly Records' ‘Texas Troubadour’ box set remains your essential first port of call.
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