These Are the Funny Ones

By 1969, popular music had become louder and bigger but the songwriting not necessarily better and yet somehow this quiet, little record was born into the world around the same time as Abbey Road. A Texas country singer by definition, Townes Van Zandt is arguably one of the first and most important of the singer-songwriters, and- like the best of them- he knows how to cast a spell and turn less into more. While aware of his music for at least the past fifteen years, I’ve never really given any of his albums a chance until now- and I’m glad I did. While rightly or wrongly Van Zandt has the reputation for being an outlaw, depressed, and generally self-destructive (yawn), here on this record shine beauty, vulnerability, and even a sort of tranquility that carries me along like a gentle mountain stream.

I can’t help but think Van Zandt and John Denver had a lot in common in the way they viewed the world and the two country boys just expressed it differently in their music; Denver has the reputation for being a sunny optimist while Van Zandt is known for being a dark cloud of desolation. Of course, if one chooses to focus on the lyrics then there is darkness and existentialism but for me Townes Van Zandt is not a downer. It is just honest, pretty, timeless, and reminds me of the quote by Michelangelo: “Beauty is the purgation of superfluities.” The words are there for the listener to hear- or not- and this makes the album- his third- good for repeated listenings as the overall music creates a calm, soothing atmosphere that for me ends all too soon. This is a record around which one might start- or restart- a vinyl collection.

Townes Van Zandt is country music for people who want something a little less honky-tonk and a bit more quiet and dignified. Nothing against John Denver, but Townes Van Zandt is the anti-John Denver album. The protagonist in the songs has researched and figured out the predicament in which he finds himself and is damned if he can’t find a way out and so (for the time being) he’s content to just sit and wait for grace- or death- whichever comes first. Now finally getting the recognition he deserves, Van Zandt was featured prominently in the new Ken Burns documentary Country Music that includes a story in which someone tells Townes his songs are really good- but why doesn’t he try writing some funny ones? Van Zandt’s response? “These are the funny ones.” Grade: A

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Recommended Links:

Guy Clark Talks About Towns Van Zandt