Advantages: Archive footage, interviews, live performances Disadvantages: None
For anyone who has read my previous comment on the great TownesVanZandt, or has heard and enjoyed his music, this DVD is a must see. If neither is applicable to you but you are interesting in an insight into the tragic workings of a genius, this is also a must.
This is the an often heartbreaking, sometimes amusing, always fascinating account of the life and times of TownesVanZandt: Texan troubadour, manic depressive, misunderstood drunk, lovelorn poet and close friend to a lucky and select few. VanZandt has written countless classic songs of loss, hope and heartbreak including the hits Pancho and Lefty and If I Needed You and has been covered by countless artists from Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan, some of whom are interviewed here.
As a biographical documentary, this is an engaging and lovingly crafted film ...
Advantages: Great songs and performances Disadvantages: Albums contain a few filler tracks, but not many
voice. Some may deem it off-key and out of tune but such a narrow sighted analysis would miss firstly the magic that occurs when a writer performs his own material, and the genuine longing, suffering and heart bleeding emotion contained within. VanZandt can be sadness incarnate as on 'No Lonesome Tune'; convivial entertainer on 'German Mustard'; sultry balladeer on 'If I Needed You' or wistful reflectionist on 'Flyin' Shoes'.
VanZandt is first and foremost a songwriter and lyricist. One onyl needs to hear the oft covered fore mentioned 'If I Needed You' or 'Pancho and Lefty' (arguably his biggest hit) for evidence. Not that this should take anything away from his poetic delivery and elegant guitar. Inspired and influenced by bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins in his playing, he can break into the blues as well as most of his contemporaries ...
Advantages: Brilliant collection covering the peak of Van Zandts' career Disadvantages: None that I can think of
references lead us to the last, well-loved, song, 'Heavenly Houseboat Blues'; an understated goodbye to the world, and to a girl. With this simple and subtle folk song, I guess the record has pretty much gone full circle and we're back where we started: except hopefully we've realised just what the late, great TownesVanZandt had to offer us.
Flyin' Shoes was TownesVanZandt's first studio record in six years, the time in-between filled with endless touring (which we will come back to later). We're back in Nashville, home of his first two albums, and Townes is switching between writing songs and drinking his life away. His voice shows the effects of this lifestyle, all cracked and broken.
As an artist, Townes appears almost lost now, certainly out of time. The songs are still mostly there, but the band arrangements don't fit, leaving ...
Product Information for "Flyin' Shoes - Townes Van Zandt" »
Product details
Title
Flyin' Shoes
Performer
Townes Van Zandt
Genre
Country
Sub Genre
Singer/Songwriter
Release Date
27/11/2006
Recomended Retail Price
14.99 GBP
Original Release Year
1978
Label / Distributor
Tomato / Cadiz/Trilogy Logistics
Engineer
Chips Moman; Don Carlee
Producer
Chips Moman
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
820550200923
Catalogue Number
TOM 2009
Additional notes
Album Notes
Personnel: Townes Van Zandt (vocals, acoustic guitar); Phillip Donnelly, Billy Earl McLelland, Chips Moman (acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Jimmy Day (steel guitar); Gary Scruggs (harmonica); Spooner Oldham (piano); Bobby Emmons (keyboards); Tommy Cogbill (bass); Eddy Anderson (drums, percussion); Toni Wine (background vocals). Recorded at American Studios, Nashville, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by Tom Terrell. All tracks have been digitally remastered. After a five-year layoff, Van Zandt returned to the studio for one of his most solid, concise albums. Unlike the compressed singer-in-a-studio sound of his early recordings, FLYIN' SHOES features sympathetic, organic backing from greats like Chips Moman, Jimmy Day Spooner Oldham. This helps Townes' subtly poetic tunes to come across. "When She Don't Need Me" and "No Place to Fall" are elegant love songs that depart form the country-folk style in the manner of DELTA MOMMA BLUES' "You Are Not Needed Now." "Snake Song," "Dollar Bill Blues" and "Rex's Blues" are classic Townes; dark, incisive imagery and simple-but-effective folk-tinged melodies. The title tune is a beautiful ballad that casts a hopeful eye toward spiritual redemption.
