CD Review: Poet: A Tribute To Townes Van Zandt - Various Artists
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As I listen to "Poet," the Townes Van Zandt tribute album, today...I am feeling how oddly appropriate some of the songs are for the state of my current mood in the wake of the September 11th tragedy in Washington and New York. "To Live Is To Fly" contains the stanza "Days Up and Down They Come Like Rain On A Conga Drum, Forget Most, Remember Some, But Don't Turn None Away. Everything Is Not Enough and Nothing's Too Much To Bear. Where You've Been Is Good And Gone All You Keeps The Getting There. To Live Is To Fly Low And High So Shake The Dust Off Your Wings And The Sleep Out Of Your Eyes. So Shake The Dust Off Your Wings and The Tears Out Of Your Eyes." Nancy Griffith does an absolutely fabulous job with the tender ballad detailing the painful ending of a relationship in "Tower Song." "White Freightliner Blues" is an upbeat tune sung expertly by country music legend Billy Joe Shaver. What country music really needs today is more songs about trains. The Emmylou Harris version of "If I Needed You" has always been my absolute favorite, but I have got to say that after hearing Ray Benson's version, I have a new favorite. I love the soft piano intro and Ray's heart touching vocals. This would be a really good choice for a wedding song. "Nothing" features the vocals of Lucinda Williams. This song, which is about the troubles of life, is one of those goose bump-raising tunes. "Sorrow And Solitude, These are the precious things and the only words that are worth remembering," Lucinda sings mournfully. "Marie" is a song that tells about a man and his woman who have it just about as bad as you can have it. They are jobless, homeless, she's having a baby and he has got that urge to hop a train and ride it as far as he can. Things go from bad to worse when he can't collect unemployment and as they sleep out in the cold, Marie and the baby die. Nothing more to keep him there, he heads south repeating the phrase, "Marie will know I'm headed south so to meet me by and by." Willie Nelson (as always) sings this hard luck tune excellently. "Waitin' 'Round To Die" is a rather startling tune that deals with the subject matters of spousal abuse, prison time and drug abuse. "My Proud Mountains," the last song on this album, is a fitting tribute from son to father. John T. Van Zandt does his father proud with his touching rendition of this tune. I would like to end this review by saying again how much I have enjoyed this album and how I am looking forward to listening to more of the late, great Townes Van Zandt's music. He was a musical treasure that is sorely missed and really needed today. Song List
Audio clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble
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