| At My Window | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 31, 1987 | |||
| Studio | Cowboy Arms (Nashville, Tennessee) | |||
| Genre | Country, folk | |||
| Length | 33:20 | |||
| Label | Sugar Hill | |||
| Producer | Jack Clement, Jim Rooney | |||
| Townes Van Zandt chronology | ||||
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At My Window is the eighth studio album released by folk/country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1987. This was Van Zandt's first studio album in the nine years that followed 1978's Flyin' Shoes , and his only studio album recorded in the 1980s.
By the middle 1980s, with royalties coming in for "If I Needed You" (a No. 3 country hit for Emmylou Harris and Don Williams in 1981) and "Pancho and Lefty" (a No. 1 country smash for Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard in 1983), Van Zandt was enjoying what was for him a stable home life for the first time with his third wife Jeanene and their new son Will. He also acquired a keen interest in boating.
Nine years after releasing his last album, Van Zandt returned to the studio with producer "Cowboy" Jack Clement, Jim Rooney and a group of top shelf musicians, including fiddle and mandolin player Mark O'Connor and Willie Nelson's harmonica player Mickey Raphael, who all complement Van Zandt's subtle, poetic songs. Clement later told Van Zandt's biographer John Kruth that he felt At My Window was the best Townes album that he was ever involved in but Van Zandt's guitarist Mickey White offers a different perspective, telling Kruth, "The album sounds a bit tentative in spots 'cause we didn't use headphones and missed some of the nuances goin' on. And by the time of At My Window, Townes's skills were not consistent...he didn't fingerpick as well as he used to. And he started getting a little lazy as a singer. As his voice matured, it got deeper and more resonant, but he tended to not sing with as much energy and lung power as he used to and started shaving off his notes and phrases more and more." White also adds that At My Window was mostly produced by Jim Rooney because "Jack was out of state, down in Florida."
Several of the songs that appear on At My Window had been written years before. "Buckskin Stallion" and the title track were originally recorded in 1973 during the sessions for an unreleased album called 7 Come 11 that would eventually surface in 1993 as The Nashville Sessions. In live performances of "Buckskin Stallion," Van Zandt would joke that the song was half about a woman and half about a horse, adding that he missed the horse. At My Window also marked the fourth time "For the Sake of the Song" appeared on a Van Zandt recording, having appeared on the singer's debut album in 1968, Townes Van Zandt in 1969 and Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas in 1977. According to the 2007 biography To Live's To Fly: The Ballad of the Late, Great Townes Van Zandt, the song "The Catfish Song" was written while Van Zandt sat by the Harpeth River, where the Battle of Franklin took place, when the singer lived in a cabin in Franklin, Tennessee in the late 1970s. The book also reveals that Van Zandt wrote the good-time country-blues romp "Ain't Leavin' Your Love" the day after his wife Jeanene brought their newborn baby home in March 1983. Van Zandt co-wrote "Gone, Gone Blues" with Mickey White.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
| The Washington Post | (favorable) [3] |
At My Window was released in 1987 to positive reviews. Writing in The New York Times , Robert Palmer declared, "Nobody writes songs about love affairs gone wrong with as much tenderness and insight," adding that Van Zandt sings with "an almost yodel that's country music's equivalent of the bluesy quaver black singer's call soul." Palmer also drew comparisons between Van Zandt and Hank Williams, observing that "their songwriting craft and vocal musicianship are exceptional, but what you hear beyond that: it seems to be the direct, untrammeled expression of a man's soul..." [4] Comparisons of the lives of these two men continued to increase following Van Zandt's death on New Year's Day 1997, the forty-fourth anniversary of Williams' death.
AllMusic's Kelly McCarthey writes "Whether in sweetly tender ballads or honky cowboy ditties, Van Zandt truly wrote of heartache and heartbreak with the best of them...For Van Zandt was of a different breed. In "Buckskin Stallion Blues" he sings 'If three and four were seven only, where would that leave one and two?' That's a contemplation for the ages." Amazon.com opines, "The funky "Ain't Leavin' Your Love" comes complete with an unlikely saxophone solo, while "Catfish Song" boasts the kind of gospel melody that marked this gentle, hard-living man as one of the finest songwriters to have ever worked in a country-folk vein." Biographer John Kruth stated in 2007, "Finally, Van Zandt's poetry took a front seat and was able to shine through unfettered. His weathered voice, full of resignation and melancholy, was now that of a grateful survivor."
Several songs on At My Window have been recorded by other artists. "Buckskin Stallion Blues" was recorded and adopted as the title track of a 1994 collaborative EP by country singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the grunge band Mudhoney. Other notable At My Window covers include Robert Earl Keen's take on "Snowin' on Raton" for his Gravitational Forces album and Pat Green & Cory Morrow's cover of "Ain't Leavin' Your Love" on Songs We Wish We'd Written. Pat Green and Natalie Maines recorded a duet of "Snowin' On Raton" for Green's 1997 album George's Bar. Richard Dobson recorded four songs from the album for his 1994 tribute album Amigos: Richard Dobson Sings Townes Van Zandt. "At My Window" was covered by Mare Edstrom on the 2004 album Learning How To Believe. The Flatlanders recorded "Blew Wind Blew" for the 2001 album Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt. The song also appears on Emmylou Harris's 2001 album Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems. "For the Sake of the Song" has been recorded by Azure Ray on their EP November and William Boyd Chisum on his 2006 album Chasing The Wind.
The album cover for At My Window features a domesticated looking Van Zandt posing in Jack Clement's kitchen, hearkening back to the cover of his self-titled album in 1969. In 2007,biographer John Kruth said of the photograph, "Townes's eyes are soft, friendly, resigned. His gold-coin belt buckle and cowboy shirt, embroidered with a winning poker hand, let you know that although he's now a family man, he's still up for a friendly wager. Warm and cozy as the scene is, there is something obviously askew." The album was released with a sticker containing an infamous quote from Steve Earle: "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." Van Zandt responded with the famous quip, "I've met Bob Dylan's bodyguards, and I don't think Steve could get anywhere near his coffee table."
All songs written by Townes Van Zandt, except where noted
The original CD release (and possibly other formats as well) was digitally mixed and mastered. Some copies included a bright pink sticker on the shrink wrap with the now famous quote from Steve Earle, "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that."
| year | format | label | catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | LP | Sugar Hill | SH-1020 |
| 1990 | LP | Sugar Hill | 1020 |
| 1992 | cassette | Sugar Hill | SH-C-1020 |
| 1992 | CD | Sugar Hill | SH-CD-1020 |
John Townes Van Zandt was an American singer-songwriter. He wrote numerous songs, such as "Pancho and Lefty", "For the Sake of the Song", "If I Needed You", "Snake Mountain Blues", "Our Mother the Mountain", "Waitin' Round to Die", and "To Live Is to Fly". His musical style has often been described as melancholic and features rich, poetic lyrics. During his early years, Van Zandt was respected for his guitar playing and fingerpicking ability.
Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. was an American singer-songwriter and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Jack Henderson Clement was an American musician, songwriter, record producer, film producer and music executive.
Gravitational Forces is an album by Texas-based country/folk singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen. It was first released in the United States on August 7, 2001, on Lost Highway Records.
Richard James Joseph Dobson II was an American singer-songwriter and author. Dobson was part of the outlaw country movement and spent time in the 1970s with Townes Van Zandt, Mickey White, Rex "Wrecks" Bell, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and "Skinny" Dennis Sanchez.
Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas is a double live album by Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. The recording captures Van Zandt in a series of July 1973 performances in an intimate venue Old Quarter. There is a strong critical consensus that this recording is among the most exemplary of Van Zandt's career.
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. It was the second album that he recorded in 1972, and a follow-up to High, Low and In Between.
For the Sake of the Song is the debut studio album by country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1968. The majority of the songs, including the title track, "Tecumseh Valley", "(Quicksilver Daydreams of) Maria", "Waitin' Around to Die", and "Sad Cinderella", were re-recorded in more stripped-down versions for subsequent studio albums.
Our Mother the Mountain is the second studio album by country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1969. It is considered to be one of his greatest recordings and features some of his best known works, including "Be Here To Love Me", "Snake Mountain Blues" and "Our Mother The Mountain".
Townes Van Zandt is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in September 1969 by Poppy Records. It includes re-recordings of four songs from his 1968 debut album, including the first song he ever wrote, "Waitin' Around to Die".
Delta Momma Blues is the fourth studio album by the country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1971. Unlike his previous albums, which were influenced by Appalachian folk and country music and recorded in Nashville, this album was blues influenced and recorded in New York City.
High, Low and In Between is the fifth studio album by country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1971. The album was recorded in L.A. and showcases what Van Zandt himself considered to be one of his most well written songs: "To Live Is To Fly".
Flyin' Shoes is a studio album by the American musician Townes Van Zandt, released in 1978. It was his first album of original material in five years and was produced by Chips Moman.
No Deeper Blue is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. This was Van Zandt's first studio album of original songs newly recorded in the seven years following At My Window, and the last to be widely released before his death on New Year's Day in 1997.
Roadsongs is a live album of cover songs released by folk/country singer–songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1994.
Live and Obscure is a live album released by folk/country singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1987. It was recorded at Twelfth and Porter in Nashville, Tennessee in April 1985.
Live at McCabe's is a live album recorded by singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1995 and released in 2001. It was recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California and is a limited edition. Only 2000 copies were printed.
The Nashville Sessions is an album by American singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, recorded in 1973 but not released until 1993 as his ninth studio album. The tracks were originally recorded for what would have been Van Zandt's seventh album, but was not released until twenty years later due to a dispute between producer Jack Clement and Poppy Records founder Kevin Eggers.
A Far Cry from Dead is a posthumous album by Townes Van Zandt, released two years after the singer's 1997 death. It contains overdubbed instrumentation added to vocal and guitar recordings made by the late singer. It was Van Zandt's first album on a major label.
Sky Blue is a posthumous album by Texas singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt, recorded in 1973 but not released until 2019. 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. 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.
