Our Mother the Mountain [Original recording reissued]

Townes Van Zandt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 12, 1994)
• Original Release Date: 1989
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00000330K
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,633 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Be Here to Love Me

2. Kathleen

3. She Came and She Touched Me

4. Like a Summer Thursday

5. Our Mother the Mountain

6. Second Lovers Song

7. St. John the Gambler

8. Tecumseh Valley

9. Snake Mountain Blues

10. My Proud Mountains

11. Why She's Acting This Way

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

After a wobbly debut, this indispensable Texas troubadour bounced back in 1969 with a sophomore disc that shows his songwriting style--audibly influenced by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and any number of Texas bluesmen--emerging via a batch of memorable originals. His straightforward hound-dog vocals were never more affecting than on the early discs. An overabundance of atmospheric flute accompaniment mars the orchestration, but this is one of the few violin-laden folk albums from the late '60s that still holds up, at times projecting a dusty, Western aura, at others a more formal, almost classical vibe. The parade of classic Van Zandt tunes continues here with a second, more fully realized try at "St. John the Gambler," "Tecumseh Valley," and one of his earliest original talking blues songs, "Snake Mountain Blues." Like that of all Van Zandt discs, the tone here is mournful from start to finish, but once you're hooked it becomes an essential part of the sweetness and greatness of this irreplaceable songwriter. --Robert Baird

Product Description

2002 digitally remastered reissue of 1969 album. 11 tracks including the classic 'Tecumseh'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talkin' Misguided Taste Blues, May 10, 2002

By 

"inthepines19" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Mother the Mountain (Audio CD)

I've never written a review before, but after seeing some of the earlier ones, I decided that I just had to say something, and say it loudly. Here it goes: THIS IS THE TOWNES RECORD FOR NEWBIES TO PURCHASE. The arrangements are absolutely excellent. I cannot stress this point enough.

I am absolutely mystified as to how anyone could criticize this record on the basis of its arrangements. It has much better strings going on than on the first record, and puts the arrangements on some of the later ones to shame. I love the majority of his records, but sometimes I would prefer to hear him solo than to hear the arrangements on say, Flyin' Shoes. Now THAT record is overproduced. Or, if you want to hear a record where his material is butchered beyond recognition, try the ambient textures of No Deeper Blue.

The arrangements on our Mother The Mountain fit the progression and mood of the album perfectly. Whether it be the opening steel guitar riffs on Be Here To Love Me, or the thick ominous strings harmonizing with Townes's guitar part in the opening measures of Kathleen, and so on down the line, the arrangements fit the material perfectly.

Along with this album, the other Townes studio record I absolutely adore as a beautiful, integrated, fully realized statement in terms of both songwriting and arrangement is High, Low And In Between. That record also has consistent arrangements throughout, with excellent drum and keyboard sounds. Buy this album and ignore the naysayers!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A small thank-you to Norah Jones, and a huge one to Townes, August 5, 2004

By 

Earl B "ebravonz" (Auckland New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I've got most of Townes' stuff, but had never heard 'Be Here to Love Me' until I heard it on the recent Norah Jones 'Feels Like Home' CD ... which is actually pretty damn good itself.

Which has naturally made me track down Townes' original version.

I was lucky enough to see Townes twice, a couple of years apart I think, at small concert venues all the way down here in New Zealand, and his effect on the audience in the quieter passages was such that you could have heard a pin drop. Funnily enough, I remember chatting to one of the concert promoters a while after the second show, and asking him if they had plans to get Townes back... he smiled, shook his head and said 'he was just too much hard work'.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Mother A Frozen Moment In American Music, September 30, 2001

By 

Thomas Joseph Jenkins (SLOATSBURG, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Mother the Mountain (Audio CD)

Yea it's true, most people would say that the instrumentation on OUR MOTHER THE MOUNTAIN is intrusive, but after a few listens, it becomes subtle and even complimentary. The songs deal with themes of a dying way of life in the West. Corrupted innocence and destroyed beauty in a cold and getting colder world. As a whole, the album stands still like a painting or as in cinema. You walk in and cannot exit without riding all the rides. It is somber, honest and quite intimate. Definitely one of my favorites of all time. Gothic country folk. It'll change yr life.