Townes Van Zandt

Texas singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt never gained much more than a long-lasting cult follow-ing for his well-crafted, mildly countryish folk pop, but his best record, Our Mother, the Mountain, remains powerful -- and he deserves a revival. He hasn't the fine voice that Eric Andersen had circa Andersen's classic Blue River (1972), but he shares some of the same sensibility -- he writes well about loss and yearning, and conveys subtle emotions through telling images. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard scored a country hit with his "Poncho and Lefty," a song with pervasive, dark nostalgia that encapsulates Van Zandt's approach. A deft finger-picking guitarist and a careful lyricist, he delivered work that stands the test of time.

The lyric "a beautiful and scary song" from "St. John the Gambler," off Our Mother, the Mountain, describes Van Zandt's songwriting -- it's always lovely, and often haunting. An extremely consistent artist, he never released a bad album -- a good place to start might be with A Far Cry From Dead. Released posthumously, the album features ace Nashville players fleshing out stark tapes of the singer's vocals and guitar (the tapes were discovered after Van Zandt's death in 1997). The voice is sepulchral, but astonishingly effective: "Cowboy Junkies Lament" could serve as the singer's epitaph, and "The Hole" is a harrowing tour of the underworld. Also remarkable is Roadsongs -- eclectic covers (The Rolling Stones, Springsteen, Johnny Cash) made absolutely personal. The Best of Townes Van Zandt does him justice, but every individual album is worth a listen. (PAUL EVANS)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide