THIS ISSUE: Craft Recordings reissues a late-career album from a uniquely gifted songwriter.
At My Window by Townes Van Zandt
o be a poet is to be tormented. And singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt’s demons were relentless: mental illness, addiction, willful recklessness. He constantly complicated his life and the lives of those around him. Even fans who felt lucky just to have him play their town were unwittingly drawn in, often exhilarated but occasionally aghast. Yet judged by his recordings, he was indisputably a song-writing genius—often sad and confused but gifted nonetheless. The scion of a storied and: “Ain’t much I ain’t tried/Fast livin’ slow suicide/Then a-runnin’ in a place to hide.” Artists inevitably find a strong suit; a mood, feeling, or emotion they relate to best. For Bob Dylan, it is pro-fundity. John Philip Sousa was triumphant. The Gershwins were about joy. Primarily a ballad singer, Townes feared heartbreak.
