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Title: Sing a Mournful Song
Review: Townes Van Zandt was the greatest. He deserves tribute albums. These artists are the right people to record this album.But the album is SO DARN SAD. Every track is recorded like a funeral hymn.Now to be fair, some of these songs can't really be recorded any other way. Upbeat versions of "Marie" or "Waitin' Round to Die" would be perverse.But "If I Needed You" doesn't need to be a lamentation. And Robert Earl Keen (whom I love dearly) bafflingly turns the rapid-fire, raucous celebration of poker, "Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold," into a slow, weary wail. The most perky-sounding track on this album is, wierdly, Delbert McClinton's "Pancho & Lefty."Don't get me wrong; this is a beautiful album. Maybe sheer grief at the Master's passing has made it such a sad album. I know Townes, like Leonard Cohen, has a reputation for writing sad stuff. This tribute album seems to accept that reputation. It's a good album. I only wish it could also have celebrated Van Zandt's joyous side.
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