TOWNES' debut for producer Kevin Eggers' new label Tomato Records, was delivered with its' macabre title for a good reason - that its' creator had overdosed on a cocktail of drugs and booze early on in its' recording and was actually discovered by fellow derelict and performer JERRY JEFF WALKER (of "Mr.Bojangles" fame), whose quick thinking spared TOWNES' likely premature drinking sesh with the Grim Reaper.
Thank the lord for that, because we'd never have got to hear this otherwise, and while it's an inconsistent affair like its' immediate predecessor, "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt" has more than adequate chips of brilliance to cash in before it staggers out of the casino.
This, after all, is the record housing TOWNES' "greatest hit", "Pancho And Lefty", and it remains one of his greatest narrative successes, a wonderfully heartbreaking tale of two separate losers set to the perfect Mexican-tinged backdrop with blasts of Mariachi trumpets.
"Pancho And Lefty" would stand TOWNES in good commercial stead later, enjoying future cover versions from EMMYLOU HARRIS, HOYT AXTON and WILLIE NELSON, but it's not the only reason to explore here. For instance, there's "Snow Don't Fall": VAN ZANDT at his desolate best, evoking a chilly winter landscape with this lonely piano ballad.
Even better, though,are "If I Needed You" and "Silver Ships Of Andilar", a killer one-two combination; the former a plaintive country rock canter with a tender universal lyric (later to attract both DON WILLIAMS and EMMYLOU again in the covers department), whilst "Silver Ships Of Andilar" is probably TOWNES' most dramatic folk tale of all, told in the first person as the only warrior to return to his home of Andilar after their disastrous crusade went tragically wrong. The sweeping strings and relentless imagery conjur surely one of TOWNES' greatest performances.
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Shame, then, that he chose to follow it with "Heavenly Houseboat Blues". Not that there's anything wrong with this gentle country-blues in which TOWNES draws up plans to continue his wandering ways in the afterlife, but it brings a sense of anti-climax, as do some of the other tunes in this context, not least throwaways like the silly "German Mustard" and the three covers: Guy Clark's "Don't Let The Sunshine Fool Ya", Hank Williams' "Honky Tonkin'" and the 1950s hit "Fraulein" - the song TOWNES promised to learn with his first guitar when procured by his Dad years earlier.
Consequently, "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt" finds TOWNES alternating between walking on and treading water. The pockets of celestial greatness ensure this is an essential record, but on vinyl at least VAN ZANDT may have needed a battery re-charge. He got it too.
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