Steve Earle once noted that Townes Van Zandt was a great songwriter And his new album Townes supports that.
As one might guess, Townes is Steve Earle’s loving musical tribute to his fallen friend — he’d already named his son Justin Townes Earle — and, in another incredible non-surprise, it’s an amazing nod to one of America’s greatest and most influential songwriters by the absolute best guy for the job. In spite of Van Zandt’s various issues — drug and alcohol addiction chief among them — he was a gifted songwriter with the ability to touch people at their very core. Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan were huge fans. And while Earle has dabbled in musical areas that Van Zandt never dreamed of, he has exhibited a similar penchant for writing deeply moving songs that enrapture his audience.
Given Earle’s long friendship with and affinity for Van Zandt, and the emotional connection between their songwriting styles, it could be difficult for the uninitiated to pick the Van Zandt songs out of Earle’s set list.
See him play at Memorial Hall. Get Sound Advice here.
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2009.