”Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” - Steve Earle
"I've met Bob Dylan and his bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table." - Townes Van Zandt.
Anyone who has been on this board for more than a cup of coffee has probably heard me talk about the music of Townes Van Zandt. His songs have accompanied me on many a weary road and have been a constant companion for my life's many highs, lows, and in betweens. In many ways, I think anyone who hears Townes and "gets it" becomes more than a fan -- you become a disciple and there is a missionary like instinct to share His with a capital 'H's works, which at times can be a frustrating enterprise. Due to a number of factors (covered in greater detail in the excellent film Be Here To Love Me) Townes had a great deal of trouble keeping his records in print and while others have had great success covering and reappropriating his music, Townes never really had a breakthrough single or album.
As a result, he has one of the most intimidating and sprawling song books in all of modern music and it is not entirely uncommon for a song (or several songs) to appear in a number of incarnations from one studio album to the next.
Below I have a sort of Starters Guide playlist I made for Spotify. This playlist is meant to be a comprehensive entry point for anyone who is interested in seeing why he has such an ardent cult following but it might be a fun follow for folks like Hobo and Skummy as well. Beyond having a fairly representative body of his work, each song I've included is what I consider the "definitive" recording or each.
I have a few other lists like this for other artist that I might share if this is well received.
http://open.spotify.com/user/1246011431/playlist/5NF36flkcOlOTheksOab1Z