This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Late, great Texas troubadour Townes Van Zandt recorded a crop of albums for Tomato Records over the years. If you aren’t familiar with his devastatingly dark work, it’s high time you were — and either of these gorgeous discs is a good place to start.
The Best Of Townes Van Zandt is a fairly definitive collection that cherry-picks 17 tracks from his earlier ’70s albums. Townes’ tragicomic tales of drunkards, drifters, druggies, ex-cons and beautifully broken-hearted losers were always better suited to the stage, however — and that’s where 1977’s Live At The Old Quarter comes in. Some call it his best record, and it’s easy to hear why. Recorded in 1973, this two-disc set captures Townes as he holds a Houston crowd spellbound with just an acoustic guitar, his whiskey-soaked vocals, a few bad jokes — and 27 of the most beautiful and/or bleak country and folk songs ever written.
ON THE MENU: Both discs include Van Zandt signature tunes like Pancho And Lefty, White Freightliner Blues, Waiting Around To Die and For The Sake Of The Song.
SURPRISE: Best Of has interesting covers of The Rolling Stones’ Dead Flowers and Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love; Live leavens the mood with the snidely funny Fraternity Blues.
