Customer Reviews

Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had the date for this DVD's release on my calendar for months. I had read reviews of its insights, and those combined with all the stories I heard about Townes Van Zandt over the years had me literally counting the days until I could see this documentary. I discovered Townes' music ten years ago, and as someone who plays guitar and writes songs I have always found his music to be some of the most inspiring I have ever heard. For years I have read about his legendary drinking and gambling, so I knew that this would be touched on in the film. However, I was unprepared for the sheer self destructiveness that plagued Townes Van Zandt's life. Even more disturbing to me was the senselessness of it all. I had always wondered what Townes was up to in the years from the late seventies to the late eighties, when his discography suggests that he literally disappeared. This film touches on this but never really answers the question. The film is clear that Townes began a follow up to "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt" which was titled "7 Come 11" (and should have given him the push into superstar status he deserved), and Townes' producer Kevin Eggers acknowledges that he did not release "The Nashville Sessions" until twenty years after it was recorded, but the exact reasons as to why were not made clear. This inexplicable failure to promote Townes Van Zandt's music is something that really bothers me, especially since it seems that he did nothing but begin a downward spiral creatively and personally from that time on. Steve Earle remembered witnessing Townes playing russian roulette on his porch in the late seventies with a .357 Magnum, and expressed his dismay and anger throughout the film at witnessing what was the world's greatest songwriter (and his hero) being so callous about his talent and his life. It seems that these "lost years" contributed to his decline, although one gets the sense that Townes didn't know what he was looking for or what he wanted to achieve. When questioned in an interview about what his goals were, it seems Townes had never thought about it (or didn't have any), and he struggles with the question until he answered that he would like to write a song that no one would understand, including himself. As the film nears its end, the shocking transformation of Townes into a skeletal alcoholic was especially disturbing to me, as was the obvious deterioration of his guitar skills and voice in the later live footage shown. Although Townes was definitely a complex individual and obviously a very funny man (the bonus interviews have a few stories that really cracked me up), this documentary left me feeling sad. I never realized that all these years of listening to his music had made me care so much about Townes. I guess it goes along with what Steve Earle said in the film, that it's always your heroes that let you down. Maybe it's because you find out that they are human beings with faults just like everyone else, but Townes Van Zandt had a gift for music that not many possess, and I'm sorry that his demons took him so early.

Townes Van Zandt was a manic-depressive, an alcoholic, and a great songwriter. He played a guitar and sang his songs, although the best-known versions of the songs are by others: Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Emmylou Harris to name a few. The songs "Tecumseh Valley, Poncho and Lefty, If I Needed You, and Waiting Around to to Die" are as good as any you'll find. Steve Earle, another Texas singer/songwriter, said TVZ was the greatest songwriter in the world.

This documentary features TVZ singing many of his songs while we witness his deterioration. He died at age 52 of complications following a broken hip and (probably) an overdose of alcohol. Nobody was suprised. Guy Clark says at his funeral that he "booked this gig 30 years ago." TVZ never made any money nor sold many records, but it's a pretty good guess that people will be singing his songs for the next 100 years. They're that good.

Among the people talking about TVZ in this film are his wives (three), children, and a host of other singers: Kris Kristofferson, Willie, Emmylou, Clark, Earle, and a bunch more. It's a touching and a frightening story. The story of TVZ is a bit like that of Vincent Van Gogh: immensely talented artists --but nobody envies them for their lives.

Smallchief

I was in Austin in '74-'81 when Townes Van Zandt was already a legendary songwriter, was really cool, but was gradually "losing his voice". I loved his songs and loved listening and dancing to his music. Now I've subsequently found that I really knew nothing about this tremendously talented, fragile songwriter. What a wonderful but crushing experience it was to watch this documentary. Heartbreaking and captivating, Margaret Brown has captured an essence of Townes' songwriting and life that is so personal, so raw and sensitive, that one feels they are personally hanging with him in the "double-wides", the pickups, and the clubs that provided the backdrop for his too, too short life. Wow, what a great flick! (and then check out Townes' live CD - "Live at the Old Quarter, Houston Texas").

Townes is an artist of such huge talent, soul, vision, and charisma, that he can make the rest look trivial by comparison. In this sensitive documentary, one sees about as much of him as anyone who never got to see him perform live will ever experience, and I thank the filmmaker for her outstanding work. It just kills me that I discovered Townes too late; from all accounts when he was at his best he could mesmerize an audience. Yes, he was a tortured soul and hurt pretty much everyone who loved him along the way. But his family and friends make it clear that he tried to fight off his demons, even as he wrote and played songs so gorgeous, spare, and evocative they could draw tears from a stone statue.

Van Gogh, Hank Williams, Janis Joplin, Townes Van Zandt. Why are the greatest artists often so disturbed and self-destructive? I saw Townes play live once or twice around 1971 in Austin, and although I later became a music publisher and saw hundreds of singer-songwriters perform, I always rated Townes the best. He was young, happy, funny, chatty, and rolled out tunes that were captivating , stunning, hilarious, amazing. In the restroom with a grin on my face, the hippy next to me said, "Are you digging Townes?" Yeah, I was digging Townes. 25 years rolled by and I wondered what ever happened to him. I heard some of his songs on the radio but I never saw him play live again. Rumors had it that he had an alcohol problem, and when he died his friends didn't seem surprised. Another 10 years later, I saw this film on the Sundance channel and it broke my heart. If you were expecting a concert, well, go live your life a while and then come back, because it's not so much about music or even about Townes, it's about all of us and what it means to be human and our need to be connected to others, and about mental illness, and how lucky we are to survive each day, and how badly we need people like Townes to inspire us and show us the truth.

Townes Van Zandt is revered in the music community for his ability to distill the essence of a song with a deftly picked acoustic guitar and brilliant lyrics that cut to the soul.

This biopic shows all sides of the songwriter; the genius, the alcoholic, the friend, the father, and the troubled soul.

I would highly recommend this for anyone who is a fan of Townes and anyone who wants a glimpse into the mind of a true musical visionary.

As a friend of the Late, Great, Townes Van Zandt; and as someone who saw him perform many times and who collected all of his recordings, I can tell you from first-hand experience that his story is one of the most compelling of any singer/songwriter the U.S. has ever produced. An amazing talent, with a bent for self-destruction, Townes was a unique and singular voice in the Pop Culture Era. His story has needed to be told, warts and all, and I give this DVD, grudgingly, four stars because it will hopefully introduce more people to this icon of American Music. However, there are several flaws in the film. One glaring misrepresentation is that this is an "Original" documentary-style film. In truth, this film relies heavily on clips from "Heartworn Highways", a 1975 film that was released in "Art Houses" in major cities across America back in the late 70's, early 80's. "Heartworn Highways" was a film about the Guy/Susanna Clark, Townes, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell contingent of "New Breed" singer/songwriters that split their time between Austin and Nashville singing together, drinking together, and buddying up; just having a great time. For someone who is familiar with Townes's story, there is very little here that hasn't already been told. This is really for people who have never heard of Townes or who have heard of him through the wind and are curious about who he was. There still is a lot missing here, as the characters that were close to him, like ex-wives and musical associates, are never really defined in the film. These kinds of omissions diminsh the full story that still needs to be told about Townes. There is a lack of depth and direction to this film that will make it difficult for people to tie together, with any kind of chronology, the pieces of this complex artist's life. There are very few, if any, details about who is who in the film. There isn't much of a reference, if any, as to where and when certain clips were taken in order to give the story a sense of history and movement. Like I said before, though, it's better than not having anything out there at the present time about this great American Poet and visionary.

Sadly we have very little on tape of this magnificent Texas artist. But you should rejoice that this small sampling of his genius is here for you to love. Townes bled onto the page of his songwriting. He didn't possess a dynamic voice or corner the market on fingerpicking guitars, but he more than made up for this with his blistering words of human testimony . . . the art of writing lyrics better than the rest. Townes was highly intelligent. Gifted. He gave his life completely to the task of providing humanity with a glimpse into the heart of a true down-country "bluesman". His careful study of blues great Lightnin' Hopkins, for one, and how he idolized Hank Williams, great covers of other artists, his thorough knowledge of music history and the study of poetry gave considerable weight to his endeavor to bring all these mediums together. He practiced daily to breathe new life into this brew of personal interests, his own personal ups and downs would, at last, find themselves onto the page in sparse words and musical phrases, capturing the very essence of his intended meaning. Never content with a work, he'd go at it again to chisel a new work of art, trying to give what is impossible to give. Each song of his shines a light into the dark corners our hearts, to make us laugh, make us cry, make us think. Never mind personal faults, for we all have them. He lived in pain and wrote songs that will resurrect your spirit. His love of life is characterized in his lyrics but he could not restore his own while searching for the poet's words and heartfelt melodies, to keep body and soul together. He was here with us only too briefly. You will want to visit with Townes again and again for as many reasons as you can imagine for the rest of your life.

I saw Townes Van Zandt in concert twice. The first time I was in my senior year of college, and Townes came through town (Nacogdoches, TX) and put on a simply captivating show. His voice was fine, his guitar playing was good, and he told story after story that were side-achingly funny. (And the girl I took to the concert thought I was really smart for knowing about this great "folkie" that she had never heard of.)

Five years later, I saw Townes at some little bar/mexican restaurant in Austin, where he was so drunk (and high, probably) that he could just barely perform. And it would have probably been better for everyone if he hadn't, or if the manager of the place had pulled him off of the stage.

At first, I thought the second concert was just an anomoly. But then the tales his his substance abuses and bouts with depression came to be widely known. I thought it was a shame, because he definitely was a wonderful songwriter, and should have had a much more prominent career that he did.

This DVD is very well made, in my opinion, and helps to explain the two vastly different Townes Van Zandts that I witnessed in concert. It pulls no punches about Townes and the demons he fought throughout his life. The people interviewed in it loved him and were amazed by his talent, but couldn't really understand him. Sadly, this is often true with people who have the kinds of personal troubles that Townes did.

There is enough of the good Townes and the bad Townes in this documentary to show you that neither side was a fluke. But it is disturbing to hear about his self-destructive behavior, and even to hear him talk about doing things that make no sense -- while at the same time he seemed not to have the desire or self-discipline to bring it to a halt.

I prefer to think of Townes as the guy that wrote "Poncho and Lefty" and "If You Needed Me". But he also wrote "Nothing" and "Waiting Around to Die". Steve Earle's description of Townes playing Russion roulette during one of his visits is very disturbing. It leaves you asking yourself why someone would do that to a friend, and what was missing from his life that made his behavior so unfathomable?

This documentary tells you just about everything there is to know about Townes' life, but outside of spiritual beliefs, there is and never can be an answer as to why it seemingly had to be that way. If anything is missing from this documentary, it would be any hint at all of a spiritual influence in his life. As well made as it is, however, my guess would be that there was no such factor that could be honestly included. And that also adds to the sadness.

So why have I watched it ten times? Why do I keep replaying the song clips and interviews? Why do some of the lines he muttered keep running through my head like a continuous loop? Why is Ralph Emory such a clueless twit? Guess you'll have to buy it if you want the answers.