Townes (album)

For other uses, see Townes (disambiguation).

Townes
Studio album by
Steve Earle
ReleasedMay 12, 2009
GenreFolk[1]
Length54:05
LabelNew West
ProducerSteve Earle
Steve Earle chronology
Washington Square Serenade
(2007) 		Townes
(2009) 		I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
(2011)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Austin Chronicle[3]
The A.V. ClubB+[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA[5]
Mojo[6]
PopMatters9/10[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

Disc One: Townes

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

No.TitleWriter(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 Studdard5:14
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

(included in 2-CD version)

All tracks are written by Townes Van Zandt.

No.TitleLength
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

Charts

Chart performance
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[16] 28
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 80
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 42
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 34
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] 28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 37
UK Country Albums (OCC)[24] 2
US Billboard 200[25] 19
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[26] 2
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[27] 2
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[28] 6

References

  1. ^ a b AllMusic review
  2. ^ "Townes by Steve Earle". Metacritic. 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. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. 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. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Young, Jon (April 16, 2009). "Steve Earle, 'Townes' (New West)". Spin. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2025.
  11. ^ Hughes, Rob (May 19, 2011). "ALBUM REVIEW: STEVE EARLE - TOWNES". Uncut. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. 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.
  16. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. May 21, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Steve Earle – Townes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  18. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 22, 2009". GfK Chart-Track. IRMA. Archived from the original. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Steve Earle – Townes". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  20. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Steve Earle – Townes". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 24/5/2009 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Steve Earle – Townes". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  23. ^ "Official Albums Chart on 24/5/2009 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  24. ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart on 24/5/2009 – Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  25. ^ "Steve Earle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  26. ^ "Steve Earle Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  27. ^ "Steve Earle Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  28. ^ "Steve Earle Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
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