Strong bonds link Steve Earle to the late Texan songwriter Townes Van Zandt. The two met in 1972 and remained friends until the latter’s death in 1997. The danger, with an album such as this, is that those ties should prove unduly restrictive. However, whilst respectful with his covers of many Van Zandt hits, Earle’s take is anything but timid. It’s a family affair too, with Earle’s wife Alison Moorer providing backing vocals on a stomping rendition of ‘Loretta’ and his son – one Justin Townes Earle – duetting with the old man on a brisk ‘Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold’.
At times, however, Townes is a little uncomfortable, akin to seeing an ex-love in someone else’s arms. Drearily arranged and executed, the classic ‘Pancho & Lefty’ is made to sound terribly ordinary. It makes for an inauspicious start, but things soon pick up with the banjo shuffle of ‘White Freightliner Blues’. Thenthere’s the Tom Morello-assisted ‘Lungs’, a reworking that shows no shortage of spirit, though the concluding guitar blowout may alarm traditionalists. Elsewhere, ‘Colorado Girl’ is stripped back and piercing and ‘Brand New Companion’ is thoughtfully rendered. Unfortunately certain songs smoulder like damp firewood when they should crackle and glow – a whiny ‘No Place To Fall’ and uninspired ‘Marie’.
You can’t fault the sentiment and the idiosyncratic Van Zandt would probably have appreciated such a quirky tribute, but ultimately Townes isn’t quite the epitaph he deserves.

Key Track: ‘Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold’