Kelly, Scott / Steve Von Till /Wino: Songs of Townes Van Zandt

Ever since I've heard the acoustic work of Wino, I've became addicted to his style and sound. His playing and feel is really close to my own and with every release I've heard as of late from him hit home instantly. Think of Adrift, Heavy Kingdom and the history repeats itself with Songs of Townes Van Zandt.

Needless to say I was hooked on this album from the first parts and it has remained a very popular item on my playlist. I must confess though not knowing Townes Van Zandt unfortunately before hearing this album. We can't know them all…I certainly like and appreciate his take on the folk music scene. Much different from what is generally heard in this genre, it remains nonetheless a very peasant selection. I would describe his take as a dark, storytelling and having some sort of an alcohol drenched personality. No, this is not really a happy ending type of music people! But, it is very good and nice to play if you happen to be a guitar player. There are no single back tracks included on this short 33 minutes disc. Actually, my only complaint is exactly that point, it is really too short. Not sure of the span of Mr. Van Zandt's career and recordings, but eight songs is barely fulfilling one's desire to be acquainted with this musical universe. Guess it's up to us to do our homework and to continue our research. This is an almost entirely acoustic guitar and vocals album. Few electric guitar tones could be heard here and there on tracks like: "Lungs" and "The Snake Song". The first one has a certain esoteric feel while the other comes in with percussion and is more like an Indian tune. My favorite tracks include: "Black Crow Blues" (nice chords embellishments; rough voice and a bluesy/depressed folksy edge); "Nothing" and "A Song For". Both are typical of Mr. Wino's personal's style of acoustic playing. You got to love those power riffs, leads and arpeggios this guy can produce on his Martin, and I'm a Gibson player!

Songs of Townes Van Zandt is a must have CD if you are a fan of this late fellow, folk music and enjoyed Wino's acoustic releases of course.

Track listing:
1- St-John, the Gambler
2- Black Crow Blues
3- Lungs
4- Rake
5- The Snake Song
6- Nothing
7- Tecumseh Valley
8- A Song For

Added: July 2nd 2012
Reviewer: Denis Brunelle
Score:
Related Link: Neurot Recordings
Hits: 1973
Language: english

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