A Far Cry from Dead

1	Dollar Bill Blues 3:01
2	To Live's to Fly 3:39
3	Rex's Blues 2:41
4	Sanitarium Blues 3:57
5	Ain't Leavin' Your Love 2:53
6	Greensboro Woman 2:37
7	Snake Mountain Blues 3:31
8	Pancho and Lefty 3:51
9	For the Sake of the Song 4:26
10	Waiting Around to Die 3:04
11	Many a Fine Lady 3:59
12	Tower Song 3:01
13	Squash 2:29

Barnes & Noble

Townes Van Zandt's rootless troubadour image, not to mention his tragic, premature death, were so strong that they've often overshadowed his poetry. Take his words on their own, though, and it's immediately apparent that images take a backseat to Van Zandt's primary gift: baring naked emotion. The longing in "For the Sake of the Song," the regrets and resignation of "Pancho and Lefty," and the unique understanding of the possibilities of hope and the strength of love in "To Live's to Fly" belie a talent that defied easy packaging. Indeed, Van Zandt was never able to score a hit song in over 30 years of playing, although his legend spread like kudzu. These tracks, compiled from guitar and vocal recordings Van Zandt made in the years before his death, include the previously unrecorded "Sanitarium Blues" and "Squash." These two songs focus on the same thing, the darker realities of life. But the remarkable range in those two tales -- one stark and emotionally honest; the other economical, ironic, and humorous -- indicates why Van Zandt continues to be recorded by artists ranging from Lyle Lovett to Emmylou Harris to Bob Dylan to Mudhoney. Kerry Dexter

All Music Guide

Called the greatest songwriter ever by Nashville rebel Steve Earle, A Far Cry from Dead is a collection of the sharp, insightful writing that led Earle to make such a bold claim about Townes Van Zandt. Included are the songs that became hits for others, such as "Pancho & Lefty" (which Willie Nelson made into a 1983 hit), as well as the material that made Van Zandt a revered songwriter and performer in his own right. More than anything, though, the album showcases just how honest and revealing Van Zandt's words are. The blunt reality of the aborted relationships in "Many a Fine Lady," for example, and the exalted freedom of "To Live's to Fly" do more to broadcast his mastery than the magazine covers he always seemed to be overlooked for. Steve Kurutz