Steve Earle's New Album "Townes"
CD Honors Legendary Singer Songwriter Townes Van Zandt
May 12, 2009
Veteran Americana musician Steve Earle once famously said of his mentor Townes Van Zandt, “Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that,” (to which Townes retorted “I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table,”).
Cowboy boots and coffee tables aside, Townes Van Zandt is one of the finest songwriters of his generation, and certainly in a class with Bob Dylan. Unfortunately, Townes never had much commercial success, and his personal demons and abuses ended his life before its time.
Steve Earle Pays Tribute to His Mentor Townes Van Zandt
Steve Earle’s relationship with Townes Van Zandt has been well documented. The two first met while Earle was 16, playing coffeehouses in Texas. The two became good friends, and Townes took him under his ragged wing.
Earle has covered Townes’ songs in the past. He did a faithful version of “Tecumseh Valley” on his album “Train a Coming.” With Steve Earle’s new tribute album “Townes,” the apprentice has the chance to expose his mentor’s work to a new generation of potential fans.
These fifteen songs, including some of Townes’ better known tunes such as “Poncho and Lefty” and “To Live is to Fly” are lovingly covered by Earle, yet reinterpreted in Earle’s own unique style.
“Townes” Successfully Marries Van Zandt’s Songs with Earle’s Style
For the most part, Steve Earle is true to the songs that he is covering on “Townes.” “Poncho and Lefty” and “To Live is to Fly” are both faithful recreations, fingerpicked not note for note, but close.
Earle does a full on bluegrass version of “White Freightliner Blues” that translates well. “Loretta,” with Earle’s wife Allison Moorer singing backup, has a slightly Irish feel to it. Steve shares a duet with his son Justin Townes Earle on “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold,” the two of them trading verses seamlessly, as if they had been singing it all of their lives.
The most striking song on “Townes” is Earle’s version of “Lungs” (the author’s favorite Townes Van Zandt song). With help from Tom Morello and his pickup flicking guitar style, a forward moving drum track, as well as some vocal distortion, Earle takes an already moody song and makes it an agonized plea, turning into a defiant roar by the final verse.
Steve Earle, always one to give a good quote, says “This may be the best record I've ever done, and that hurts my feelings because I'm a singer-songwriter." While he may be selling himself short, it seems that Earle’s singing and Townes lyrics are a perfect match.
Earle will be following up “Townes” with a tour this Summer. It will be interesting to see how he incorporates these songs from his mentor and friend into his own repertoire. In the end, "Townes" is sure to turn many newcomers to Folk and Americana music on to one of the greats, Townes Van Zandt.
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