"Townes Van Zandt's third recording is an early guitar-and-voice singer-songwriter classic laden with memorable originals. Start with 'For the Sake of the Song,' an oft-recorded classic here enlivened by tasteful percussion. Move on to a couple of Van Zandt's gritty, death's door laments--'Waiting Around to Die' (where the ex-con protagonist finds a friend in codeine) and a miner's sad tale, 'Lungs.' 'Colorado Girl' is another in a career-long series of paeans to Colorado, where Van Zandt went to college. 'I'll Be Here in the Morning' is a tender love song, while the Dylanesque 'Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel' is almost playful. Like most Van Zandt albums, this one has the obligatory buried-but-beautiful small masterpiece, in this case the undeniably gorgeous '(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria.' The closer is another oft-covered piece of scrimshawed tunesmithery, 'None but the Rain.' This 1969 effort is the first of several essential Van Zandt albums." - Fat Possum

• black vinyl pressing
• original release year: 1969
• music label: Fat Possum Records 2015

ALSO AVAILABLE

• Townes Van Zandt: Our Mother The Mountain Vinyl LP