For the Sake of Song (Dig)

Townes Van Zandt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 4, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Possum Records
• ASIN: B000U1XIJY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,307 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Originally released in 1968 For The Sake Of The Song is a re-issue of Townes' well known debut album. Produced by Jack Clement (Charley Pride, Chet Atkins, U2 etc.) and featuring original liner notes by Mickey Newbury, Townes Van Zandt went on to cement his status as a cult icon among gifted song writers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First from the Songwriter's Songwriter, May 24, 2008

By 

Christopher Smith (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For the Sake of Song (Dig) (Audio CD)

This is my second TVZ purchase, the first was the bargain 2-for-1 CD that has High, Low and In-Between and The Late Great Townes Van Zandt together. That, I believe, is a great place to begin if you want to get started on what will be a lifetime of listening pleasure. You'll soon want more though, and I'd recommend this one right along with the 2-for-one, since the same songwriting genius is here in abundance, but the production is slightly different and it will give you another perspective on the atmosphere that surrounds the stories his songs tell. On this CD, TVZ's voice seems to be set back from the microphone a bit and also seems to carry a slight echo with it. It lends a mystical kind of aura to the title track, "Many a Fine Lady," " Sad Cinderella" and "16 Summers, Fifteen Falls." There's a depth and emotional weight to these songs that you don't find in too many places or people, but he can also crack you up with something like "Talkin' Karate Blues," which is a lot like the song "No Deal" from "H,L and I-B." Also, it's great to compare his earlier version here of "Sad Cinderella" with his later interpretation of it on "The Late Great." His classic "Tecumseh Valley" offered another perspective too, because before this I'd heard versions by Steve Earle and Nanci Griffith. Townes has no trouble footing it with these two, who are no slouches when it comes to telling a story in song.

Truly this man is the reigning saint of the movement that seemed to evolve in the early to mid-seventies, with the Flatlanders, Guy Clark, and Billy Joe Shaver, and which continues with Robert Earl Keene, Steve Earle, Buddy and Julie Miller, the Cowboy Junkies and Dwight Yoakam. Nothing better than drinking from the source...

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but Could Have been Greater, November 25, 2009

By 

Old T.B. (Cheyenne, Wy USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For the Sake of the Song (MP3 Download)

Don't get me wrong: I do like this album. As a Townes fan, how could I not like it? At least half of the tracks are bona fide classics, and the rest are very good with the exception of one stinker, "Sixteen Summers, Fifteen Falls." Twenty-one years since I first bought this album, this song still does not work for me.

I would say that the overproduction bothers me on this album, but that's too easy; after all, some of the songs like the title track and "Many a Fine Lady" are not overproduced. Let's say that the production does not always work for me. "Tecumseh Valley" and "Waitin' Around to Die" are produced in a manner reminiscent of late Sixties Glen Campbell. Folks, that's just not right. Actually, I kind of like the overproduced "The Velvet Voices," but I wouldn't want a whole album of it.

Many of these songs were rerecorded for the next two Van Zandt albums Our Mother the Mountain and Townes Van Zandt; I believe those versions (and those albums) are far superior. I would highly recommend getting Our Mother the Mountain and Townes Van Zandt first. Then, check this one out. It is certainly worth having in your collection.