"Townes" / Steve Earle

Steve Earle named his son Justin Townes Earle after his friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt whom he once described as “the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that”. Townes’ typical self-deprecating reply (Townes once boasted he learned to play guitar at 15 and learned his second chord at 21) to Steve’s compliment? “Bob Dylan wouldn’t let Steve Earle near his coffee table.” Steve’s obvious admiration was further demonstrated when he recorded “Tecumseh Valley” (Train A Comin’), “Two Girls” (Poet:A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt) and “Rex’s Blues/Ft. Worth Blues” (Just an American Boy). On “Townes” Steve covers fifteen additional tracks that span Townes' career from “(Quick Silver Day Dreams of) Maria” (off his first release in 1969) to the haunting “Marie” from 1994’s “No Deeper Blue”. The tracks don’t stray far from Townes’ original recordings and you wouldn’t expect them to given Steve’s deep respect for Townes and his music. Only on “Lungs” does Steve update Townes with a John King (Dust Brothers) treatment adding distorted vocals, Tom Morello on guitar, a drum machine and some (turntable) scratching. Believe it or not it works! Other highlights are the often covered “Pancho and Lefty”, the reved-up bluegrass “White Freight Liner Blues”, the word play of “Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold” with Steve and Justin Townes Earle trading verses and “Marie” with its bone chilling lyrics: “In my heart I know it’s a little boy, Hope he don’t end up like me”.

Release date: May 12th on New West Records.

I just wish Townes was around so we could hear what he’d have to say about “Townes”!

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“Townes” (track list)

1. Pancho and Lefty
2. White Freightliner Blues
3. Colorado Girl
4. Where I Lead Me
5. Lungs
6. No Place To Fall
7. Loretta
8. Brand New Companion
9. Rake
10. Delta Momma Blues
11. Marie
12. Don’t Take It Too Bad
13. Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold
14. (Quicksilver Daydreams Of) Maria
15. "To Live Is To Fly"

Speaking of flying, as Townes loved to say "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana"!