Townes Van Zandt "In The Beginning..." LP

Not surprisingly, when one listens to these early recordings of Townes Van Zandt, it's obvious from the start that he was someone and something that arrived fully formed. Even if the songs themselves weren't quite as refined as they would become, virtually all of the elements are in place: the poetry, the stark melodies, the restless wanderlust, the inherent melancholy and impenetrable darkness; all of which this would inhabit his lyrics and delivery for the rest of his too-short life. The songs on In the Beginning were recorded in his first Nashville recording sessions in 1966, pre-dating the release of For the Sake of the Song by two years. Eight of these ten songs was recorded with Van Zandt playing solo on his guitar. All of them are quite revealing, not just for the obvious lyric and melody reasons, but for his guitar playing abilities; he was a considerable flatpicking talent and picked up his idol's, fellow Houstonian Lightin' Hopkins', trademark stutter shuffle as well. The blu