Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt - Various Artists

Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt (2001) - Various Artists

Voted amongst Amazon.com's Best of 2001, this is an excellent tribute album to Townes, who'd died only a few years earlier. The performers are varied and make a good job of interpreting some of Van Zandt's many great works.

Many of the artists on here were part of Townes Van Zandt's life, and had covered his songs in the past - long before many people had heard about Townes. This makes a huge difference to the quality and atmosphere across this album.

The covers here are rich and some of them seem like new songs. Van Zandt's great songs seem to get the best out of most of these artists. Furthermore, his songs seem very open to re-interpretation and can come across in a very different new light. Willie Nelson is great in "Stellar" and Guy Clark does a great job with "To Live's to Fly". Most of these songs are acoustic, but there are some more electric moments such as Billy Joe Shaver and Van Zandt's great friend Steve Earle.

The songs of Townes Van Zandt are destined to be for folk artists what the works of Gershwin are to saloon singers. The likes of "Pancho & Lefty," "If I Needed You," and "To Live's to Fly" are the quintessence of troubadour music, thanks to the somber grace of the late Lone Star legend's language and the engaging simplicity of his melodies.

Poet gathers a talented assortment of Van Zandt contemporaries and apostles to pay tribute to the man by lovingly reinterpreting his songs.

Steve Earle electrifies "Two Girls" while Billy Joe Shaver tackles "White Freightliner Blues" with similar fervor. "Tower Song," one of the most poignant breakup songs ever written, is revived by Nanci Griffith, and Willie Nelson provides a conversational version of "Marie."

Stalwart fans of these gems will always prefer hearing the originals and live versions performed by their composer, but they'll find plenty to respect and enjoy in this lovingly compiled salute.

-Steven Stolder

Tracklisting

1. To Live's To Fly - Guy Clark

2. Tower Song - Nanci Griffith

3. White Freightliner Blues - Billy Joe Shaver

4. Highway Kind - Cowboy Junkies

5. Snake Song - Emmylou Harris

6. If I Needed You - Ray Benson

7. Loretta - John Prine

8. Nothin' - Lucinda Williams

9. Blue Wind Blew - The Flatlanders

10. Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold - Robert Earl Keen

11. Two Girls - Steve Earle And The Dukes

12. Marie - Willie Nelson

13. Pancho & Lefty - Delbert McClinton

14. Waitin' 'Round To Die - Pat Haney

15. My Proud Mountains - John T. Van Zandt

Here be the great poet;


http://rapidshare.com/files/100857657/Poet.rar

Thanks to the original poster