Townes Van Zandt's Re-Do Album: A Retrospective

Ahh, Townes Van Zandt. Few names in the canon of American music carry such weight as his. Even fewer names are as unique.

Let's get it out of the way now, I'm a Townes Van Zandt acolyte through-and-through. It's incredibly hard to articulate anything about the man in a brief manner, and any attempt I could make would not do him justice. I won't give you his biography, but I'll tell you this: he was a sinner, a poet, an addict, an artist, and a cowboy in the most spiritual sense. Put simply, he was a man.

That's enough glazing for one article. I do actually have some semblance of a substantial objective to be fulfilling here.

*Note: It's worth mentioning that finding solid facts on certain details about Van Zandt's career is a difficult undertaking. With as many re-releases and label changes as he did, bits of data like dates and credits become murky. I know you don't care though, so just know that dates given are approximations based on research conducted.

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In 1967, Townes Van Zandt recorded his debut album "For the Sake of the Song " in Nashville under the record label Poppy. This same year, Nashville was host to some pretty heavy-hitters of American music. Glen Campbell released "Gentle On My Mind," Johnny Cash and June Carter put out their chart-smashing hit rendition of "Jackson," and of course, Bob Dylan put out "John Wesley Harding."

That's an impressive set, right? That's just the Nashville scene. On top of that, 1967's crop of music was like the flash from an atomic bomb. 1968 was the explosion. I think any critic, or even any bum who claims to be a fan of music, could tell you that 1968 was the greatest year for music to date. Not to give you a history lecture, but 1968 was one of the most tumultuous and significant years in American history.

All of this to say, when little old Townes Van Zandt released "For the Sake of the Song " in August 1968, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise that it went largely overlooked. Drowned out, if you will, by the worldwide meltdown that was 1968.

The album was somewhat... poorly received by folk and country listeners. Townes built his fanbase in the coffeehouses and bars of America with his poetic, honest, and reserved music; he was an acoustic solo act, think Bob Dylan during his come-up. When you listen to "For the Sake of the Song" and hear its contemporary lush production, you can see why it might've upset the folk puritans of the day.

The album is like the music equivalent of hanging a Van Gogh inside a McDonald's. It sounds like the producers tried to make Woody Guthrie sound like 'Mama' Cass Elliot, or Sonny and Cher. That's not to say I dislike it, in fact I prefer the '68 version of "I'll Be Here in the Morning" to its later recordings. The album as a whole is one of those unfortunate miscalculations between an artist and his producers. However, Van Zandt's undeniable gift for beautiful writing shines through the smokescreen of the compositions, and he would keep at it until he achieved his vision.

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In the spring of 1969, Van Zandt released "Our Mother the Mountain," which literally and figuratively stands as a midpoint between his first and third albums (nothing but the most profound statements here at Bloodhound Magazine). There are still some more commercial aspects to the production of this album, like string sections and use of the flute, but it's far more reserved than "For the Sake of the Song." Personally, I think the strings and flute are great additions to this album, they create a very unique listening experience that you don't often get out of country music. His poetic lyricism is also exponentially more utilized.

Please listen to it. Do it for me. I never ask you for anything. Just listen.

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Less than half a year later, in September 1969, Townes Van Zandt released his self-titled; the subject of this whole tedious article. Out of the 10 songs on the album "Townes Van Zandt," four of them are renditions of songs from "For the Sake of the Song" (namely, For the Sake of the Song, Waiting Around to Die, Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria, and I'll Be Here in the Morning). Additionally, Tecumseh Valley was already re-done on Our Mother the Mountain.

Sorry for the bombardment of song and album titles, I hope that wasn't as confusing to read as it was to write. The point is, Townes was not pleased with the way his debut album sounded. You can almost hear more of the production than Townes himself, and that's the opposite of his appeal.

This is the career-defining album of Townes Van Zandt. The minimalistic instrumentation gives enough space to really let his lyrics and unique voice come through. I may be speaking out of turn, but I think Townes Van Zandt's music isn't incredible as music itself, but rather it's incredible because each song carries an honest representation of his spirit. His songs are more poetry than they are music, and for it to work so well and reach so many is a pretty special thing.

I don't mean to stir up controversy where it's not needed, but I do think it's necessary to say that Townes Van Zandt's work has a certain inalienable appeal to men, or rather, what it means to live as a man. I say this primarily because the subject matter of most of his work is autobiographical or fictional but plausible ballads of male characters. I mean, just listen to the album. It's not to say that women can't understand or appreciate him, but, uhh, hmmm. How am I gonna put this?

Here's a little analogy for you that I think is rather apt. Townes Van Zandt is the "The Catcher in the Rye" to Phoebe Bridgers' "The Bell Jar." Get what I'm sayin? If you want a clearer picture, watch Margaret Brown's 2004 documentary Be Here To Love Me, very insightful.

Back to the subject at hand, Townes Van Zandt's early albums tell an interesting and important story about art as a whole. Sometimes the art we make fails to accurately express ourselves. As discouraging as that may feel, when you put in the effort to make that artistic vision come true, I'd say odds are, you're eventually gonna make something that captures exactly what you set out to do. I've been on both sides of that coin, and it's why I love art so much.

Anyway, thanks for sifting through this muddy little creek of an article. I hope your pan came up with a few flecks of gold worth keeping. Maybe if you're lucky, you can hawk them for a bottle of something fermented and strong. Lord knows Townes would've.

-Andersen Beck Founder, Reporter