Audio CD review:
Townes Van Zandt - No Deeper Blue

Townes Van Zandt - No Deeper Blue

Band: Townes Van Zandt Title: No Deeper Blue Rating: Release Date: 23 November, 1994 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: A Song For 2: Blaze's Blue 3: The Hole 4: Marie 5: Goin' Down To Memphis 6: Hey Willy Boy 7: Niles River Blues 8: Billy, Boney And Ma 9: Katie Belle Blue 10: If I Was Washington 11: Lover's Lullaby 12: Cowboy Junkies Lament 13: BW Railroad Blues 14: Gone Too Long

Editoral Review But the voice and music of this care-worn country-folk veteran (who passed away in January 1997) connotes something more sublime. If Townes Van Zandt is known at all, it may be only for writing the Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard hit "Poncho and Lefty" a decade back. With his warm folkways and dark ruminations, Van Zandt is like a lost wanderer who can link generations of songwriters, from Woody Guthrie to Nick Cave. On No Deeper Blue, his first studio release in seven years, Van Zandt strings a trail of small and intimate folk-blues numbers that lead us down paths both empty and bright. With "The Hole," a ghost story works as a metaphoric battle with personal demons, whether they be alcohol or depression; in "Billy, Boney and Ma," the graveyard tale takes a comic turn. Songs like the poetic "Hey Willy Boy" and the whimsical "If I Was Washington" build on simple folk conceits and wordplay, while others such as "Goin' Down to Memphis" make effective use of the basic blues form. If, perhaps, the thin, dry voice of the Texan troubadour has limited Van Zandt to being a cult songwriter instead of a recording star, it is that same quiet and understated vocal delivery that adds weight and dignity to his tunes. He's living proof the songs of yesterday's ramblers hold their mystery and charm through the years and despite changing musical fashions. --Roni Sarig .. You can see a complete list of all Townes Van Zandt discography, or go back to the Townes Van Zandt tabs