Often referred to as “The Best Songwriter In The World” (an epithet
foisted upon him by Steve Earle), singer/songwriter TOWNES VAN ZANDT (1944 –
1997) was once described by the LA Times as “A cross between Woody Guthrie
and Leonard Cohen”. However, despite his passionately-loyal (albeit minuscule)
fanbase, legendary status and unconditional peer group approval, Van Zandt
achieved virtually no commercial success with his own records during his
lifetime, and he
never recorded for a major label. Due to the “complicated” legal mess into
which his career and life descended, Van Zandt saw scant remuneration for the
later hit recordings of his songs, by Emmylou Harris, Don Williams, Willie
Nelson and Merle Haggard, and spent much of his life penniless, scuffling, and
in debt. However, his body of work has continued to grow in stature since his
death, and latterly there has been a huge revival of interest in his records.
Van Zandt recorded eleven studio albums and a half-dozen or so live albums
during his truncated career. Our reissue programme presents the best of these on
180 gram vinyl.
