| A Gentle Evening With Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt | |
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Reviewed by Jennifer Webb
Townes Van Zandt played Carnegie Hall on November 26, 1969 and nobody ever knew that his performance had been recorded until the tape was found buried deep with other various recordings. After being found they decided to release it and call it A Gentle Evening with Townes Van Zandt.
The ten songs found on this collection range from thought-provoking deep lyrics, to funny songs about getting drunk on cheap alcohol and all but one ("The Ballad of Ira Hayes") were written by the man himself.
"Rake" is a story song about a man that would treat his girlfriend gently when it was daytime, but when the night came he "woke up and followed the moon." He would turn into a person that would enjoy giving orders and be the total opposite of his "other personality."
In the lyrics to, "Like A Summer's Thursday," Townes paints a beautiful picture of what the woman he loves looks like as he longs for her to feel for him what he does for her. She is gone though, and he wishes the grass would turn green again so that he can cheer up and become the happy man he once was.
The man thought of a woman as an angel that touched him deeply with her presence in "She Came and She Touched Me." As he started thinking about the whole situation, though, he wondered if she really betrayed him as he battles his "demons" (thoughts) and tries to make sense of everything as the angel he sees has tears streaming down her face.
"Talking Thunderbird Wine Blues" is a humorous song about a man finding out about a cheap wine as he sings such funny lines as "Man, this Thunderbird tastes yum, yum, yummy. I know it's doing good things to my tum, tum, tummy!" If there ever was proof of Townes Van Zandt's influence on some of the current Texas artists, this song is a perfect example because it reminds me of Robert Earl Keen, or even Adam Carroll.
Closing the album is "The Ballad of Ira Hayes," which is largely remembered as a Johnny Cash song. Some parts of the Townes version are spoken as well as sung which adds character to the song about an Indian that grew tired of the white man stealing his land and so he started to drink and landed himself in jail, where he remained until he died.
Though Townes Van Zandt died far too soon at the age of fifty-two, unearthing a gem like this should bring out young and older fans alike to hear a then twenty-five year old at the beginning of his fifteen record career. If you are a fan of music that has a hint of folk, blues, and country, then you should also purchase this collection.
Song List:
Album cover and MP3 sound clips courtesy of DualTone.
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