Townes Van Zandt: Texas Rain

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * )
Label: Tomato/Elite

A Gentle Evening With Townes Van Zandt
(Herald rating: * * * * )
Label: Dualtone

The first is an uneven collection of the late Van Zandt (a compadre of the Flatlanders), who was a genius with a dark lyric or metaphoric narrative. But this duets collection with the likes of Freddy Fender (in Spanish on Pancho and Lefty), Jerry Jeff Walker, Willie Nelson, Kimmie Rhodes and others is hardly essential, even for longtime fans.

Some good stuff for sure (Waiting Around to Die with Calvin Russell, Snowin' on Raton with James McMurtry, the moody Marie with Willie) but overall this adds little to his considerable legacy of great songs and newcomers are better seeking the recent double-disc Very Best of collection.

The "gentle evening" recorded way back in '69 at Carnegie Hall will be of more interest to be both longtime followers and newcomers. Van Zandt appeared solo for his then-record company Poppy when he had a couple of albums behind him.

Even then there was a fragile uncertainty and nervousness about his performance (yes, he self-consciously tells a lengthy and weak joke) which would become more pronounced later in his career, and made his interpretations so singular and moving.

This opens with Talking KKK Blues, which leans heavily on Dylan's Talking John Birch Society Blues, but is funny and pointed nonetheless. However, after that he explores his own sensitive songs - the beautiful Like a Summer Thursday and Second Lover's Song, plus Tecumseh Valley and others - and closes with the Johnny Cash standard The Ballad of Ira Hayes.

Damn close to essential in even the most casual Van Zandt collection.