Actually, there's only 8 tracks from this double set included in the "Texas Troubadour" set, mostly the songs not already featured in their studio forms, but as the whole set's a very worthwhile addition to TOWNES' canon, let's talk about what is on offer.
Firstly, why a 4-year gap between recordings? Well, mostly because of problems in the long-time setting up of the Tomato label and also TOWNES' insistence in establishing himself on the US folk circuit. Thus, despite a recording hiatus, TOWNES applied himself to his wandering lifestyle with a vengeance, going off on something akin to BOB DYLAN's "never-ending" tour, but also helping to establish the TV series "Austin City Limits" in the mid-70s, making his first appearance with Clifton Chenier.
Sometime before this live album appeared, TOWNES was divorced from his first wife Fran Petters (they'd married in 1965 and had a son, John Townes II) and there was a second marriage to Jeanene Munselle in 1980, but by the time he came to record 1978's "Flyin' Shoes", he had just girlfriend Cindy and faithful dog Geraldine for company.
So, considering this topsy-turvy life, it's fitting he should return stark and unadorned, with just his battered acoustic, that vulnerable larynx and fiery songbook before an intimate crowd at one of his old haunts, The Old Quarter, in Houston. No doubt this is the kind of setting he'd have wanted to be remembered playing in and, yep, it does him justice and then some.
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It's important to remember that one of the reasons behind TOWNES' alarming alcohol intake was his horrendous fear of performing, but that doesn't show here. What does shine through are the wit, rapport with his audience and sharp observation that epitomised a VAN ZANDT gig, no more so than on the two talking blues, "Fraternity Blues" and "Talking Thunderbird Blues"; the latter a hilarious homage to the cheapo wine that fuelled many a Sun Studios session during the 50s.
There's several other great "rare" songs from TOWNES' canon, notably LIGHTNIN HOPKINS' cover "Chauffeur Blues" - a throwback to TOWNES early days watching his hero in a similar club situation, and the controversial "Cocaine Blues" (not to be confused with Roy Hogsed's 1940s hit of the same title), showcasing some mega finger pickin' and the typically TOWNES refrain: "All I want for breakfast is my good cocaine."
There would be later TOWNES live collections (mostly decent, too) but "Live At The Old Quarter" is still arguably the definitive live artefact. The studio sorcery wasn't over yet, either.
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