TOWNES VAN ZANDT's self-titled third album initially disappoints a little after the vivid, focussed dramas of "Our Mother The Mountain", revisiting (as it does) no less than four of the tunes from his "For The Sake Of The Song" debut.
However, as the old cliche goes, "Townes Van Zandt" really is a grower. Again recorded in Nashville with Kevin Eggars at the helm (but no "Cowboy" Jack Clement ), this time the framework is often starkly acoustic, with Eggars bringing in subtle embellishments - gentle percussion, woodwind, some nice harpsichord on the new version of "For The Sake Of The Song" - and never cluttering TOWNES' melodic finger picking and close-miked voice.
Thing is, after a couple of listens, the new songs especially start to impinge. The wistful "Columbine" (in which TOWNES compares a young girl's transitory beauty to that of a flower) possesses a tangible grace, while "Colorado Girl" happily revisits romance in TOWNES' favourite state: always a good combination.
In truth, the four revamped songs don't add a great deal to the picture. "(Quicksilver Dreams of) Maria" remains eminently pretty, but "I'll Be Here In the Morning" (slower and langorous) and particularly "Waitin' Around To Die" - shorn of Jack Clement's spooky backing - are inferior to their original takes.
But TOWNES' ain't finished yet. Typically, there's several songs in the album's home strait that totally boost the record's stock. "Lungs" is one of those damning blues he can pull out when you most need it, breathing firewater, proffering snaky slide guitar and great insights into the frailty of TOWNES' own human condition, with the unsettling intro line: "Won't you lend your lungs to me?/Mine are collapsing."
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The record's one major departure is "Fare Thee Well,Miss Carousel", both lyrically and melodically similar to Dylan circa "Blonde On Blonde", with a pronounced r'n'r thrust. It's still epic TOWNES though, taking flight just when we need him to. Then, to sign off, there's "None But The Rain", a stroke of genius cloaked in almost Medieval recorders as TOWNES puts a relationship to bed with both heartbreaking sadness and absolute dignity.
So, while "Townes Van Zandt" may fall some way short of the transcenence of its' immediate predecessor, there's still plenty to celebrate and, as we'll see, there's another clutch of amazing songs lurking just around the corner.
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