Customer Reviews

Heartworn Highways

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4 star:		(1)
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you can almost smell the whiskey, beer and dust when these great Texas neo-traditionalists spin tales of love, heart-ache and BBQ!

These are the second generation outlaws (after Willie, Waylon, et al) that sent Nashville a select digit by writing fine song instead of the glossy turds thay were (still) producing.

The music on this soundtrack is absolutely brilliant, just like the imagery of the documentary itself. This is the real thing.

The intimate feeling of this recording makes for a unique experience. The soft ballads, thumping harmonies and silly between-song banter all fuse into a wonderful downhome jam session, except it's not your home. You just get to pretend it is. Some of the songs get a little cheesy, but others, like Blueberry Wine, are light-hearted sing alongs perfect for a summer day.

Some awesome tracks from an outstanding documentary!! A young Steve Earle at his absolute finest with Darlin' Commit Me & Mercenary Song. David Allan Coe is frank and earnest at Tennessee State Penitentary with great commentary and a hard to find gem; River. Guy clark is at his best with; Ballad of Laverne and Captain Flint, as well as the classics; Desperadoes Waiting for a Train, That Old Time Feeling, & L.A. Freeway. And last but certainly not least is Townes Van Zandt's extremely soulful Waitin' Round to Die, as well as Towns' version of his own penned country music icon; Pancho and Lefty.

This is a hidden treasure chest of gems that is a must have for any country music fan. No bubble-gum-pop-modern-"country"-garbage here, these are singer/songwriter heroes at their finest.

At SXSW two years ago Lyle Lovett, called Heartworn Highways his favorite music film, and it's easy to understand why. This album features some wonderfully mastered recordings of some groundbreaking artists in their prime -- including three from Steve Earle when he was only 20 years old! Many have called this movie one of the most important music films ever made and the power of these recordings certainly corroborates that notion. Here are Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clarke, John Hiatt, Rodney Crowell and more beautifully recorded in intimate settings. Truly priceless, in my book.

Once in a very great while there comes an album whose sheer beauty leaves you speechless after you've experienced it. "Heartworn Highways" is one of those albums. If you're reading this then you should already know that it is the companion CD (the liner notes point out that it is NOT a soundtrack) to the film of the same name, which documents the country revivalist/outlaw country movement in Austin and Nashville during the 1970s. This album collects music taken from the feature presentation, along with music from the extra features on the DVD. Presented here are performances from Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Young, Steve Earle, David Allan Coe, Gamble Rogers, John Hiatt, and Rodney Crowell. Each song is a work of songwriting and performance genius, and each one is lovingly restored and remastered from the original analog tapes for unbelievable sound quality. Put this disc into a surround sound system and listen to the instrumentation come alive around you. It's easy to say that a given recording makes you feel "as if you're there(!)," but this one truly does give that impression. The sound quality is so pristine that you will never listen to modern digitized recordings the same way again. I guarantee it.

What this album is is a permanent capture of a special moment in time. All performances were recorded during December 1975 and January 1976. Country music has changed since then and many of these people have gone their separate ways from the community that is presented here. But on this disc, that community, that vital group that revolutionized music, is here forever for us to enjoy. The most amazing tracks are the ones where several musicians are collaborating. At the end of the disc is a series of tracks taken from an informal jam session at the Clark house from Christmas Eve 1975. It is truly incredible that these songs were got on tape, as this sort of thing will never happen again. These people dared to challenge music into going truly back to the basics; sitting with an acoustic guitar and telling real stories through songs, without all the extraneous additions that can obstruct things along the way.

Simply put, this is a magical piece of music. As I said, every song is excellent, and every performance of it is amazing. I listen to rock, country, folk, blues, soul, pop, classical, opera, and a bit of funk, and let me tell you: this is probably the best set of music in my entire collection, in songwriting, sound quality, packaging, and the obvious amount of love that went into putting this album together. It is absolutely amazing, every track. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy, preferably a CD copy instead of iTunes, because the booklet has a track-by-track commentary. You will weep for how far music has fallen. At least the majority of these guys are still alive and recording.

What a great time capsule from 1976 - Heartworn Highways. I absolutely LOVED this cd (and dvd). Found out that I love songs by Guy Clark, Larry Jon Wilson, Rodney Crowell, Townes Van Zandt. Really interesting stories, you enjoy it tremendously. At first, I didn't know any of the artists' music (except for Steve Earle) and now I'm a big fan of these folks. Favorite tracks: "L.A. Freeway," "Ohopee River Bottomland," "Bluebird Wine," and "Texas Cookin." GREAT, GREAT stuff. Do yourself a favor and get the DVD too.

Just starting, fresh and new a number of great songwriters caught for all time. I stumbled across this in the store and it came home with me. The voices are very young but the songs are mature and show what will be. The 26 tracks just seem to keep getting better and Silent Night is almost a perfect ending. If you like this music, you will like this CD and play it often.

One of the really great things about the movie is the sound quality, and somehow I actually think the soundtrack isn't quite as good. Sounds a little hollow to my very untrained ear, not quite as warm. And I also prefer all of the versions of the songs used in the movie to the ones made available here.

BUT, it's still fantastic. Great, inspiring songwriting. A must have, but not quiite as much of a must have as the movie.

This soundtrack is an excellent companion to the absolutely must-see DVD. The Steve Earle tunes in particular are unbelievable. I'd never heard (or heard of) "Darling Commit Me" and "Elijah's Church" before and they are on a level with best songs that he has ever written. He apparently emerged from the womb a fully-formed songwriter. Seeing a greasy-haired teenager sing these beautiful songs on the DVD is astounding. Any Earle freaks or lovers of Texas songcraft have got to check these out.