A Collection of Sorrow – Townes Van Zandt’s Self Titled

(This article is an archived piece by Hunter Petch, from his time at the no-longer existent blog “Sparky”).

Unsettling croons encapsulate the tortured mind of Townes Van Zandt on his Self Titled LP. There are multiple instances enclosed within these 10 tracks where reflecting dismally upon your own past experiences is destined. Frankly, I’m disappointed with my unfamiliarity to Townes, this being my initial listen to his work. I’m unsure if it’s his nearly haunting approach to acoustic-driven folk/country, or his writing that hits uncomfortably close-to-home for me, but something struck a chord on first listen.

Vocally, the pain is undeniable. Each song was evidently written in a roughed-up notebook that sits next to a bottle of Bowmore, most likely drunk straight. Townes stands as an aged, worn artist throughout the entirety of the project, painting each canvas with rainfall. The best example of which being “Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel” – an epic ordeal compared to the other tracks, despite the quality of the entire album. “I ain’t ‘gonna try to make you cry / The teardrops couldn’t find your eyes / It’s all been swell Miss Carousel / But the time has come for leavin’” promptly stripped me of any joy I felt in that moment. His hardships are consistently worn on his sleeve, so gaining the knowledge of his struggles throughout his lifetime is unfortunately no surprise. 

Instrumentally the project could easily be considered mundane from an outside perspective, but I disagree. The subtle compositions allow for Townes to build a world of unimaginable size due to their simplicity – giving him more space to explore his range and storytelling, two skills he’s mastered to the point of being mentioned among titans such as Bob Dylan – being one that I recognized the most shades of within Mr. Van Zandt’s music. More explosive production would’ve compromised the integral themes of the project, as minimalism is essential to Townes, and works congruently with his style as a writer.
Townes’ Self Titled grows more expansive until the end, making each track better than the last. Thin, emotionally-charged cracks of his voice, beautiful guitar plucks and the occasional drum accompany you the entire way, making the journey all the more worth it. It’s not a large album in scale, yet, the impact it leaves is indescribable. This is undoubtedly a project I’ll be returning to often. Preconceived notions surrounding country music’s lack of substance is completely blown out of the water for me here. My personal love for other folk/country songwriters such as Willie Nelson and Nick Drake has gained a new competitor – a fierce one at that.