Sky Blue (Townes Van Zandt album)

Sky Blue
A worm's eye view of a man looking off in the distance
Studio album by
Townes Van Zandt
ReleasedMarch 7, 2019
RecordedAtlanta, Georgia, 1973
Length34:11
LabelTVZ Records, Fat Possum Records
Townes Van Zandt chronology
Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions & Demos 1971–1972
(2013) 		Sky Blue
(2019)

Sky Blue is a posthumous album by Texas singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt, recorded in 1973 but not released until 2019.[1] All tracks were recorded in early 1973 at the Atlanta, Georgia, home studio of Bill Hedgepeth, a journalist, musician, and longtime friend of Van Zandt.[2] Its 2019 release was conceived by Townes' surviving family—his wife and literary executor Jeanene, along with his children, J.T., Will, and Katie Bell.[1]

Tracks

Sky Blue consists of 11 previously unreleased recordings, including two tracks which had never been released, "All I Need" and "Sky Blue."[3] The album also features three covers, the traditional folk song "Hills of Roane County", Richard Dobson's "Forever For Always For Certain", and Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind".[4] There are three original tracks which had been released on previous albums; a version of "Blue Ridge Mountains Blues (Smokey Version)" titled simply "Blue Ridge Mountains" first appeared on Townes' 1972 album High, Low, and in Between.[5] Recordings of "Pancho and Lefty" and "Silver Ships of Andilar" had initially appeared on his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. A recording of "Rex's Blues" was included in Van Zandt's 1977 live album Live at the Old Quarter[6] and on 1978's Flyin' Shoes.[7] "Snake Song" was also released on Flyin' Shoes. "Dream Spider" (as "The Spider Song") would not be released until 1993 as part of The Nashville Sessions, a collection of recordings intended to be on his seventh album, Seven Come Eleven.[4]

Critical reception

Sky Blue received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 10 reviews.[8] Writing for Pitchfork Media, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the release a 6.9 out of 10.[2] Jim Allen of NPR considers it a document of Van Zandt's best work.[4] Fred Thomas of the editorial staff of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, with reviewer Fred Thomas writing that "glimmers of brilliance" can be heard on it.[9] In Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein gave the album 3.5 out of five stars.[10] Elisabeth Woronzoff of PopMatters gave it a positive review in light of the artist's enigmatic career,[11] as did Matt Mellis of Consequence.[12]

Track listing

All lyrics and music by Townes Van Zandt except where noted.

  1. "All I Need" – 2:52
  2. "Rex's Blues" – 2:15
  3. "The Hills of Roane County" (traditional) – 3:53
  4. "Sky Blue" – 2:34
  5. "Forever, for Always, for Certain" (Richard Dobson) – 2:28
  6. "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" (Smoky Version) – 2:58
  7. "Pancho and Lefty" – 3:54
  8. "Snake Song" – 2:08
  9. "Silver Ships of Andilar" – 5:30
  10. "Dream Spider" – 1:57
  11. "The Last Thing on My Mind" (Tom Paxton) – 3:42

References

  1. ^ a b "Townes Van Zandt "Sky Blue" – Previously Unreleased Recordings – Will Be Released On March 7, 2019". Fat Possum Records. January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (March 11, 2019). "Townes Van Zandt: Sky Blue". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Yoo, Noah (January 14, 2019). "New Townes Van Zandt Album Sky Blue Announced". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Allen, Jim (February 28, 2019). "Townes Van Zandt's 'Sky Blue' Offers Insight into A Mercurial Mind at His Prime". NPR. Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  5. ^ poet, j. "High, Low and in Between – Townes Van Zandt | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  6. ^ Deming, Mark. "Live at the Old Quarter – Townes Van Zandt | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  7. ^ poet, j. "Flyin' Shoes – Townes Van Zandt | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "Sky Blue by Townes Van Zandt". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Thomas, Fred. "Sky Blue – Townes Van Zandt". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  10. ^ Berstein, Johnathan (March 13, 2019). "An Illuminating New Collection of Townes Van Zandt Demos Sky Blue". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Woronzoff, Elisabeth (March 5, 2019). "Sky Blue Is Another Star in Townes Van Zandt's Posthumous Career". PopMatters. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Mellis, Matt (March 4, 2019). "Album Review: Sky Blue Sheds New Light on the Enigmatic Townes Van Zandt". Consequence. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2020.