The Late, Great Townes Van Zandt

Townes Van Zandt was an American singer songwriter who wrote and recorded fairly prolifically from the early 70s until his death in 1997, but never connected with a mass audience. Diagnosed with manic depression as a young man, Van Zandt compounded his troubles with drugs and alcohol, but managed to write, perform and tour for decades in the United States and abroad, and to live his uncompromising vision of a modern troubador. His legacy of spare, poetic compositions in a folk/country vein (he was once described as "a cross between Woody Guthrie and Leonard Cohen") still makes him a major figure to other songwriters, but often an enigma to the public. His laconic Texas drawl and his taciturn delivery aren't for everyone, but his songs retain a power and originality that the passing of time seems only to have clarified. Perhaps his most admired (and popular) recording is the 1973 set called Live At The Old Quarter, Houston, Texas. The reissue owned by the library contains two discs of his more important compositions (including pieces like "If I Needed You" and "Pancho and Lefty"made popular by Emmlou Harris and Willie Nelson, respectively), and would serve as a good introduction to the beautiful songs and understated style of this significant American artist.

Also of interest:A Deeper Blue: The Life and Music of Townes Van Zandt by Robert Earl Hardy (Book)

Be Here To Love Me [Documentary Film] (DVD)

Join Together

Since at least the time of the historic Monterey International Pop Music Festival in 1967, large, days long, multi-band, outdoor festivals have been an important part of the live music scene. Festivals like Newport Pop, Isle of Wight, Woodstock, Lollapalooza, and Coachella have defined their eras with music, art and social trends. In her new book Join Together: Forty Years of the Rock Music Festival, author Marley Brant explores the history of the festivals and their times with help from the musicians who played them, and the fans who were there.

The book is arranged chronologically, and some historical context is provided for each year covered. Those chapters begin with notes about world events, music news and popular songs of the day, to evoke the times when the festivals took place. One of the book's strong points is that more than half of it covers the years after 1980, and doesn't settle for exclusively boomer-era coverage. A fun, informative read.

Some related recordings:

Monterey Pop (DVD)
Woodstock : Music From The Original Soundtrack and More (CD)
Woodstock Two : Three Days of Peace and Music (CD)
Live at Woodstock - Jimi Hendrix (CD)
Live at the Isle of Wight - The Who (DVD)
Van's Warped Tour '06 (CD)
Live at the Atlanta International Music Festival - Allman Brothers Band (CD)

Stone age artifact

In today's post-punk, indie-rock, alternative world the bombastic confluence of Hard Rock and seventies Progressive Rock has long been the hallmark of showy over-indulgence and psuedo-classical pretension. Surprising, then, to see more recent movements like "prog-metal" (Queensryche, Dream Theater), and bands like Mars Volta incorporate elements of this much maligned music. American band Tool even had 70s prog-rock favorites King Crimson open for them on tour.

Will progressive 70s rock ever make a complete comeback? A good test might be the recording Moving Waves by Dutch band Focus. This 1971 album didn't just have a 23-minute adaptation of Jacopo Peri's opera Euridice (Emerson, Lake and Palmer anyone?) but the huge hit Hocus Pocus "which features yodelling and operatic falsetto from Thijs Van Leer combined with Jan Akkerman's heavy metal guitar (Wikipedia)". If this radio staple jogs your memory, it will almost certainly bring a smile to your face. If you can listen to this without picturing Spinal Tap, then prog-rock is back!