Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt: 50th Anniversary (180g Vinyl)

Townes Van Zandt's eponymously titled third recording from 1969 is an early guitar-and-voice singer-songwriter classic laden with memorable originals. Start with "For the Sake of the Song," an oft-recorded classic here enlivened by tasteful percussion. Move on to a couple of Van Zandt's gritty, death's door laments - "Waiting Around to Die" (where the ex-con protagonist finds a friend in codeine) and a miner's sad tale, "Lungs." "Colorado Girl" is another in a career-long series of paeans to Colorado, where Van Zandt went to college. "I'll Be Here in the Morning" is a tender love song, while the Dylanesque "Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel" is almost playful. Like most Van Zandt albums, this one has the obligatory buried-but-beautiful small masterpiece, in this case the undeniably gorgeous "(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria." The closer is another oft-covered piece of scrimshawed tunesmithery, "None but the Rain." 50th anniversary 180g remastered vinyl with tip-on jacket and lyrics included. 

1. For the Sake of the Song
2. Columbine
3. Waitin' Round to Die
4. Don't You Take It Too Bad
5. Colorado Girl
6. Lungs
7. I'll Be Here in the Morning
8. Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel
9. (Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria
10. None But the Rain