Classic Albums: Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas by Townes Van Zandt

Here’s the third fave album this year of mine to be added to that CA list and yeah, live album do count too! I do have some live albums included but I guess I don’t have a lot them of live albums, the ones I’ve added are the real special albums in my opinion. Not much country & western albums have been added which I guess you label Towes Van Zandt as a C&W artist, if you need to label him something? The album was recorded July 1973 performances but not released until April 1977.

Townes never hit the big time in his life, passing away in 1997 but I think he’s much more well-known these days because almost or a lot C&W stars have covered his tracks or just cited him as an influence. Now endless things have been written and said about Townes so you can find his long history/myths of his elsewhere too. Crossing over genes by the 90’s indie rocker Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley even wanted make a record with him. The best stuff I’ve ever read about him and this live album is or was this:

“It’s him playing a solo show in the 70’s. On most of his records, he went to the studio and someone put some backing band behind him. But I don’t really like that. His thing is fragile; the spell can be broken so easily. It’s like a spiderweb: so gentle and delicate but so fucking powerful. It’s some of the heaviest songwriting, it’s just so madly intense. Him and Bob Dylan are two guys if you want words and music.”

That little review is by Gareth Liddiard in Aussie Rolling Stone mag somewhere around 2008, sorry I don’t have the date? That quote pretty much some-up everything about this pretty perfect so I might leave it at that and not bang on and on about him and this album. Nice short blog post but I highly recommend having a listen and checking it out, if haven’t before or giving it another listen if you’ve heard it before?

Live At The Old Quarter Houston Texas track listing and times:

1. Announcement – 0:43
2. Pancho & Lefty – 4:00
3. Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold – 3:40
4. Don’t You Take It Too Bad – 2:50
5. Two Girls – 3:40
6. Fraternity Blues – 3:00
7. If I Needed You – 3:30
8. Brand New Companion – 4:26
9. White Freight Liner Blues – 3:10
10. To Live Is To Fly – 3:12
11. She Came And She Touched Me – 4:03
12. Talking Thunderbird Blues – 2:21
13. Rex’s Blues – 2:55
14. Nine Pound Hammer – 3:20
15. For The Sake Of The Song – 3:26
16. Chauffeur’s Blues – 4:31
17. No Place To Fall – 3:03
18. Loretta – 2:17
19. Kathleen – 2:52
20. Why She’s Acting That Way – 5:40
21. Cocaine Blues – 3:28
22. Who Do You Love – 3:10
23. Tower Song – 4:08
24. Waiting ‘Round To Die – 2:25
25. Tecumseh Valley – 4:30
26. Lungs – 2:22
27. Only Him Or Me – 2:57

This list below are my 118 favorite albums, so far because I’m in the progress of blogging a post per album but over the the silly season break I did count/number all of them to somewhere around a little over 300! So really I’ve and if you are coming along for the ride? We got a very, very, very long way too go anyway now Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas by Townes Van Zandt is the 119th album post!

Who else really digs Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas album? Or wanna say something about it?

Cheers 🙂

2 Comments

Aphoristical says:

January 28, 2019 at 2:30 am

He gets classified as Texas Folk too. One of my favourite live albums.

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1. William says:
  
  January 28, 2019 at 4:29 am
  
  Oh yeah, that might be a better way to describe him but then again i do dislike labeling artists but i guess some want to know what it is? Glad it’s one of your fave live album too!
  Cheers again 🙂
  
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