I’ve been a fan of Townes Van Zandt for some time now after a chance hearing some years ago of ‘Pancho & Lefty’ on a movie or film I’ve long since forgotten the name of. This combined with a love of all things Yob eventually led me to Mike Scheidt’s contribution to Vol. II of this wonderful series of tributes released in 2014 also on Neurot Recordings and My Proud Mountain: needless to say, I was hooked. Eight years on, I wasn’t expecting a Vol. III but I’m very glad that it has arrived.
For the uninitiated Townes Van Zandt is an American songwriter and regarded by many of his contemporaries as one of the all-time best songwriters and poets to ever grace this pale blue dot. Whilst others might try and write a sad song, Townes lived that sadness and for the benefit of us all put that expertly to music. If you’ve not heard his work already, hopefully this might seek to rectify that.
It turns out that it’s quite difficult to review this stuff as there’s a natural tendency to daydream whilst listening to Townes, you can literally feel the stress leaving the body. So, it’s kind of fitting that the first of three contributions to the album by Marissa Nadler is the wistful crooning melancholy that is ‘Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria’.
The most notable element over the original is the lack of percussion in the very faithful set of covers, which gives them a timeless ethereal quality. The sole beat being from the light touch strumming of the guitar. The vocals lack the urgency and quiet desperation of the original, but that doesn’t in anyway take away from the heart-worn impact of the songs, indeed it seems to emphasize the haunting melodies and sense of longing.
‘None But The Rain’ drops the tempo considerably, indeed, this is a full minute longer than the original. It really does take her time to deliver a stunning rendition, quite different and yet faithful to the original. Marissa really does make the song her own, whilst remaining faithful, producing a relaxing, dreamy and a bittersweet balance of joy and sadness.
The second contributor who appears is Amenra, covering ‘Black Crow Blues’, ‘Kathleen’ and ‘Flying Shoes’. ‘Black Crow Blues’ strums along gloomily, it’s beautifully bleak, minimalist, and mournful. The heart stopping fragility of Van Eeckhout adds a different delicacy to that of the original or indeed the gruffer Steve Von Till cover on Vol. I. A calm and reflective sadness and serenity, truly an achievement.
‘Kathleen’ brings a deeper atmosphere to proceedings, the finger picked guitar given solemnity with the original bassline and Orchestration replaced with a deep cello line to great effect. Again, juxtaposed with the delicate vocals which pull on the heartstrings with tales of loss and longing.
Finishing their contribution with ‘Flying Shoes’, which is much slower than the original and takes a full extra two minutes off time. A deep imposing atmosphere and sentiment follow the long slow intro. These shoes aren’t even remotely flying, instead they float serenely to their destination dragging a wake of sheer emotion behind them.
Third contributor Cave In present the most varied three songs to the tribute. Starting with a live version of ‘Nothin’’ a desolate and poignant picture of sorrow and solitude. Stronger vocals than the original, take a bit of the edge off, and of the covers I prefer Wino’s version on Vol. I. ‘The Hole’ is a fuller sound and contrasts with ‘Nothin’’ A monotonous plod pregnant with electronic menace and discordant almost jazzy guitar parts, it really is a favorite on the album: dreamy, but with a sense of anxiousness.
‘At My Window’ is another eclectic entry. Originally a rather beautiful contemplative piece on the nature of life and death, this has a more gothic feel to it, like a downtempo version of ‘Burn’ by The Cure. This rendition has an emotional depth to it with the complexity and sadness and optimism with sadness and optimism breaking like waves against the ears of the listener.
Whilst the Marissa Nadler and Amenra contributions are a wonderful tribute, I feel the Cave In songs are my favourite reinterpretations of these songs. When all three are wound together though this set of covers gives you a sense of relaxed calmness about the inherent sadness of Townes songs. The feeling that no matter how bad things maybe you’re never truly alone, and counterintuitively, a sense of hope that everything will be alright.
This third volume continues that tradition of emphasizing different aspects of each, pulling out different threads of the tapestry and letting them shine. I can’t help but feel that He would have been proud of these contributions to his legacy.
Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. III is out now to buy via Neurot Recordings: https://neurotrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-townes-van-zandt-vol-iii and will be available on streaming platforms from 1 July 2022.
9 / 10
RICH PRICE