Customer Reviews

Highway Kind

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you want to experience the Townes Van Zandt of strong voice and nimble guitar pickin', go straight for one of his early live recordings. However, if you want an exceptional live document from the end of Townes' career, where he "wore his skin like iron" and his "breath was hard as kerosene," then this is the cd for you. To hear the aged Townes sing a song like "Lost Highway" with its lyric "O'er a life of sin, I paid the cost," you can't help but feel like that man understood those lyrics like no other, and it's a kick in the gut. His version of "Ira Hayes" will tear you to pieces, and the song "Highway Kind" will leave you slack-jawed. It's the honesty of these recordings - warts and all - that leave me in amazement, because after all those hard years, Townes was running strictly on emotion.

Yes, his guitar work isn't as great as is used to be, and his voice sounds downright pathetic at times, but every track on this CD is beautiful. I enjoyed this album a hell of a lot more than _A Far Cry from Dead_ because of its starkness. A Far Cry... just seemed to slick for TVZ. I think this album captures the real essence of his work.

townes is probably the greatest folk-contry blues artist of all time. his voice as well as his songs are so sad and sorrowful. two songs that i love the most are dublin blues and lookin for you. if you like the blues or want to hear real country instead of the shlock that is called popularly country today you must do yourself a favorite and listen to this. when the woman i loved started cheatin on me this c-d saved me...'nuff said

The intensity of this CD increases with each listen. Townes Van Zandt did it again as usual. Surely worth buying for the experience.