Album of the day: Flyin' Shoes by the fantastic singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt

Originally published at: Album of the day: Flyin' Shoes by the fantastic singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt | Boing Boing

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“To Live Is To Fly” came up on shuffle right before I clicked on this article.

A guitarist friend of mine once said Townes’ music was something he kept stashed away, and he could only listen to it at certain times of his life, typically when he was alone.

I completely understood him.

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A wonderful album. Townes is one of my all time favorites, and while Live at the Old Quarter is my favorite album of his, Flyin’ Shoes is tough to beat

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The first I was introduced to Van Zandt was Rear View Mirror, and as a result I generally prefer the versions on that record to all the others, I find I miss the violin on other versions. And while Live at The Old Quarter also has an intimate feel, Rear View Mirror sounds like one of those nights you’re in a small bar with like 10 other people and there’s a band in the corner that no one showed up for but the bar’s regulars are appreciative of.

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Townes Van Zandt was the best songwriter this side of Bob Dylan. I have fond and not-so-fond memories of watching him playing the Cactus Cafe in the 1980s and 1990s. The not-so-fond memories are of him being so drunk that he’d fall off his stool while he was playing. RIP.

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Dude in the background knows what you’re talking about.

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I believe that when they recorded the Live at the Old Quarter album they watered down his beer or otherwise limited how much he drank in order to get enough useful tracks in the can.

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