Townes (album)

For other uses, see Townes (disambiguation).

2009 studio album by Steve Earle

Townes

Studio album by

Steve Earle

Released| May 12, 2009
Genre| Folk[1]
Length| 54:05
Label| New West
Producer| Steve Earle
Steve Earle chronology
| Washington Square Serenade
(2007)  | Townes
(2009)  | I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
(2011)

|
|

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 82/100[2]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
The Austin Chronicle| [3]
The A.V. Club| B+[4]
Entertainment Weekly| A[5]
Mojo| [6]
PopMatters| 9/10[7]
Q| [8]
Rolling Stone| [9]
Spin| [10]
Uncut| [11]

Townes is the 13th studio album by American singer-songwriter Steve Earle, released in 2009. It is an album on which he pays tribute to his friend and mentor, the late singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt by covering his songs.[12] According to a New West Records press release, "The songs selected for Townes were the ones that meant the most to Earle and the ones he personally connected to (not including selections featured on previous Earle albums). Some of the selections chosen were songs that Earle has played his entire career ("Pancho & Lefty", "Lungs" and "White Freightliner Blues") and others he had to learn specifically for recording.[13]

Notable guest appearances on the album include Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave/Street Sweeper Social Club) playing electric guitar on "Lungs", and Earle's wife Allison Moorer singing backing vocals on "Loretta" and "To Live Is to Fly". Earle and his son, Justin Townes Earle trade verses on "Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold".[13] He is backed by The Bluegrass Dukes on "White Freightliner Blues" and "Delta Momma Blues".

This album won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards.[14]

A two disc CD version included a subset of the songs performed solo by Earle. This bonus set was also released on vinyl for Record Store Day.[15]

## Track listing

[edit]

### Disc One: Townes

[edit]

All tracks are written by Townes Van Zandt (except where noted).

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Pancho & Lefty"|  | 4:02
2.| "White Freightliner Blues"|  | 3:28
3.| "Colorado Girl"|  | 3:35
4.| "Where I Lead Me"|  | 3:30
5.| "Lungs"|  | 2:19
6.| "No Place To Fall"|  | 2:53
7.| "Loretta"|  | 3:14
8.| "Brand New Companion"|  | 5:12
9.| "Rake"|  | 3:23
10.| "Delta Momma Blues"| Van Zandt, Matthew Moore, Caddo Parish Studdard| 5:14
11.| "Marie"|  | 4:53
12.| "Don't Take It Too Bad"|  | 3:12
13.| "Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold"|  | 2:18
14.| "(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria"|  | 3:20
15.| "To Live Is To Fly"|  | 3:40

### Disc Two: The Basics

[edit]

(included in 2-CD version)

All tracks are written by Townes Van Zandt.

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Pancho And Lefty"| 4:02
2.| "Where I Lead Me"| 3:37
3.| "Lungs"| 2:22
4.| "No Place To Fall"| 2:56
5.| "Loretta"| 3:14
6.| "Brand New Companion"| 5:12
7.| "Rake"| 3:22
8.| "Marie"| 4:49
9.| "Mr. Mudd And Mr. Gold"| 2:34
10.| "(Quicksilver Daydreams Of) Maria"| 3:15
11.| "To Live Is To Fly"| 3:36

## Personnel

[edit]

* Steve Christensen \- percussion, audio engineer
* Shad Cobb - fiddle
* Dennis Crouch \- bass
* Justin Townes Earle \- guitar, vocals
* Allison Moorer \- vocals
* Tom Morello \- electric guitar
* Greg Morrow \- drums
* Tim O'Brien \- mandolin
* Darrell Scott \- banjo, resonator guitar
* John Spiker \- electric bass
* Steve Earle - vocals, guitar, mandola, harmonica, harmonium

## Chart performance

[edit]

Chart (2009)  | Peak
position

|

U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums  | 6
U.S. Billboard 200  | 19
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums  | 2

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b AllMusic review
2. ^ "Townes by Steve Earle". Retrieved October 1, 2016.
3. ^ Freeman, Doug (May 15, 2009). "Steve Earle - Townes". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
4. ^ Murray, Noel (May 12, 2009). "Steve Earle: Townes". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
5. ^ Kot, Greg (May 6, 2009). "Townes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
6. ^ The overall effect is more inline with how Townes made his early albums. [Jun 2009, p.96]
7. ^ Harsin, Jayson (May 10, 2009). "Steve Earle: Townes". PopMatters. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
8. ^ Earle believes this is one of his best albums; he's not wrong. [Jun 2009, p.132]
9. ^ Hermes, Will (May 12, 2009). "Steve Earle - Townes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
10. ^ Young, Jon (April 16, 2009). "Steve Earle, 'Townes' (New West)". Spin. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
11. ^ Hughes, Rob (May 19, 2011). "ALBUM REVIEW: STEVE EARLE - TOWNES". Uncut. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
12. ^ "Freeing a Mentor From His Mythology". The New York Times. May 10, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
13. ^ a b Blackstock, Peter, "Details on Steve Earle's album of Townes Van Zandt covers", NoDepression.com, March 9, 2009
14. ^ Steve Earle, Encyclopædia Britannica
15. ^ "Record Store Day 2014 > Steve Earle - Townes: The Basics". Record Store Day. Retrieved July 5, 2017.

* v
* t
* e

Steve Earle

Studio albums|

* Guitar Town
* Exit 0
* Copperhead Road
* The Hard Way
* Train a Comin'
* I Feel Alright
* El Corazón
* The Mountain (with the Del McCoury Band)
* Transcendental Blues
* Jerusalem
* The Revolution Starts Now
* Washington Square Serenade
* Townes
* I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
* The Low Highway
* Terraplane
* Colvin & Earle (with Shawn Colvin)
* Ghosts of West Virginia
* J.T.
* Jerry Jeff

Compilation albums|

* Early Tracks
* Essential Steve Earle
* Ain't Ever Satisfied: The Steve Earle Collection
* The Devil's Right Hand: An Introduction to Steve Earle
* Sidetracks
* 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Steve Earle

Live albums|

* Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator
* BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert
* Together at the Bluebird Café (with Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt)
* Just an American Boy
* Live from Austin, TX
* Live at Montreux 2005

Notable singles|

* "What'll You Do About Me"
* "A Little Bit in Love"
* "Hillbilly Highway"
* "Guitar Town"
* "Someday"
* "Goodbye's All We've Got Left"
* "Nowhere Road"
* "Sweet Little '66"
* "Copperhead Road"
* "Six Days on the Road"

Other songs|

* "Devil's Right Hand"
* "When You Fall in Love"
* "Sometimes She Forgets"
* "Galway Girl"

Related articles|

* Discography
* E-Squared Records
* The Steve Earle Show
* Justin Townes Earle
* Stacey Earle

* v
* t
* e

Townes Van Zandt

Studio albums|

* For the Sake of the Song
* Our Mother the Mountain
* Townes Van Zandt
* Delta Momma Blues
* High, Low and In Between
* The Late Great Townes Van Zandt
* Flyin' Shoes
* At My Window
* The Nashville Sessions
* No Deeper Blue

Posthumous albums|

* A Far Cry from Dead
* Texas Rain
* Sunshine Boy
* Sky Blue
* Somebody Had to Write It

Songs|

* "If I Needed You"
* "Pancho and Lefty"
* "To Live Is to Fly"

Live albums|

* Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas
* Live and Obscure
* Roadsongs
* Together at the Bluebird Café (with Guy Clark and Steve Earle)
* Live at McCabe's

Related articles|

* Heartworn Highways
* Be Here to Love Me
* Townes

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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