Gentle Evening With Townes Van Zandt CD

Recorded live at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York on November 26, 1969. Originally released on Poppy Records. Includes liner notes by Paul Kingsbury.

For those most familiar with the late great songwriter Townes Van Zandt as a hard-living, rugged road veteran who'd seen the bad side of the highway several times too many, it may come as something of a revelation to step into this sonic time capsule where Van Zandt is a bright-eyed, fresh-faced young troubadour full of promise and vigor. There were many young men of the post-BLONDE ON BLONDE era who entered into the New Dylan sweepstakes, but as this 1969 Carnegie Hall performance shows, Van Zandt was one of the only entrants who was actually up to the task.

With a clear voice full of youthful vitality, he moves through amiable Woody Guthrie-style talking blues on "Talking Thunderbird Wine Blues" just as easily as he delivers songpoetry worthy not just of Dylan but of Shakespeare (you heard it right) on "Rake." The cutting, surreal imagery of the stunning "Lungs" proves that he'd already staked out his own shockingly unique territory in a world apart from even the aforementioned bards, while "Tecumseh Valley" finds him fully capable of writing a modern but timeless folk song. Don't get this one for the previously unreleased opening cut "Talking KKK Blues," which is fun but not earth-shattering; get it for the illumination it offers on the work of one of our greatest songwriters.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Additional Tracks

Solo performer: Townes Van Zandt (vocals, acoustic guitar).Rolling Stone (9/19/02, p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This is a precious addition to his legacy."