Woah! Had to chop several chunks of my full review to make it fit into the 1000 word limit. I read every word of every review at time of posting and I'm slightly disgusted by seeing only 18 reviews 5 years after release and that the writing is not more persuasive. Oddly, I was unimpressed with favorable reviews by Townes' admirers only because their eloquence with words was few and far between, even though there were some good bits. My favorite review was the worst rated one, because of these words: "nor is there any attempt to give you any sense of what he did other than write songs". Well that is Townes Van Zandt in a nutshell. He didn't really do much with his life except for "write songs" and even his own family barely knew him after they approved the electroshock therapy.'Heartworn Highways' documents the true birth of the scene called "outlaw country music". There's not as much footage as I'd like, but the stories about him by people who knew him well are a river of carefully crafted words that any appreciator of a good story should love instantly. Music and poetry are Townes' breath and blood. His life is many peoples' stories, and everyone knows parts, but no one knows the whole thing 100%. Susanna Clark might know more than anyone else possibly.The film centers around a few tapes recorded by a friend whom Townes confided in over the phone. Director Margaret Brown shows that she has brains simply by her choice of subject. In one tape, Townes clearly recaps his early musical birth, that when he was 8 years old he saw Elvis Presley (on the television at his home deep in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas, unlike Gram Parsons and Tom Petty who both met Elvis in person) and the next Christmas his father bought him a guitar. He remembered something about learning some songs and going to the school and making all the girls go crazy and then going home a hero. He details how he penned his first country/western single 'Waitin' Around to Die' when he had been "locking myself up in the closet for weeks on end with the phone off the hook and listening to early Bob Dylan and Lightning Hopkins". There is so only one biography I know of in print (on my shelf) called 'To Live is to Fly'. It is only able to tell part of the story. Much of it is unknown or not very well documented. The author states that he tried to interview Susanna Clark and got rebuffed by her because she is writing her own book about him or something like that. Guy says that Susanna and Townes were kind of like soul mates.Townes said Doc Watson was the first person to officially cover one of his songs, told everyone that Lightnin' Hopkins gave him his first joint (possibly true), and the last major band he tried to produce with was Sonic Youth. Something I discovered while researching online was that Townes died tragically on January 1st, 1997 and the great country music legend Hank Williams also tragically died on January 1st, 1953 exactly 44 years to the day. You must watch the bonus interviews on the DVD to see his bonus interviews where Guy Clark says, "Even though sometimes there's a lot of words, there's a lot of phonetic hot licks going on, it's the holes you leave, you know, emotionally in the story line and Townes was like...he was so good it sounds unconscious. I don't believe it was...he knew what he was doing...I knew Townes, he's a smart S.O.B., and he's the coolest guy that ever walked, BUT he was not unaware of how good he was and what he was doing...It wasn't magic. It was (expletive) hard work and paying attention." Guy Clark talks about when Townes was at his best and could perform songs that would just take your breath away. "That's our goal as songwriters, is to try to hit that mark."There are hilarious stories in the DVD extras from Leland Waddell about trying to once-and-for-all cure Townes of his suicidal tendencies by actually giving him a loaded shotgun, driving backward 40 miles to a gig in Lubbock that was already canceled because of the rain, and letting the tramps take his nice shirt and moccasins while picking a grave site because he drove off after they saw him drag an passed-out drunk Townes to the grave site. Johnny Guess says he was Townes' witness inside a little trailer when Bob Dylan wanted to meet Townes and they met in a blocked off part of Guadalupe street (the "drag" in front of the University of Texas) and when Bob Dylan got to meet Townes Van Zandt and hear him play and sing, Johnny Guess said his jaw was dropped wide open because he got to meet Townes Van Zandt. "That was Bob Dylan. It doesn't get any better than that." There are many great arrangements of words a person can have ingrained upon their memory after watching this movie. I think my favorite quote from Townes in the film is from the 1995 Amsterdam interview where he says, "I try to write about things that matter and make every song good." The best part of the film for me is when John Lomax III calmly tells us (with tears flowing down his face) about when he tried to manage and get to the bottom of the business affairs of Townes Van Zandt and put an advertisement out for fan mail to "America's Greatest Songwriter" and the letters he got from tons of people said that listening to this guy's music had saved their lives, that they were on the verge of suicide and his music brought them back, or they had lost a loved one and his songs had helped them get through a tough time.

Greetings again from the darkness. The wait for this one to hit Dallas has been long and painful. Just mentioning the name Townes Van Zandt gets me all weepy and longing for those many nights in Austin between the mid 70's and early 80's. Although I only saw him perform live three times, his influence on the Austin music scene was unmatched.Margaret Brown's directorial touch on this bio-documentary is filled with love, admiration, respect and a harsh dose of reality. Townes was not the typical inflated ego icon so familiar in the music business. Yes, he drank entirely too much and yes, he did way more drugs than any one body could possibly handle. But hearing fellow musicians, three wives and numerous children talk about him, affirmed one thought that I had always clung to: the man had soul.There are some fascinating film clips of Townes both living life and on stage at various times throughout his "career". When we hear the spoken words "he is here for the music", it all makes sense. We see him unkempt, living in a lousy trailer and in his constant state of gauntness. This man was born to write songs and he did it better than anyone. Near the opening, Joe Ely tells the story of how listening to Townes' first record, forced he and Jimmie Gilmore to totally change their approach to songwriting. Folks, that is talent and power.The reverence in the voice of Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Steve Earle (three fine songwriters in their own right) as they recollect how Townes touched their music is very base and raw. This is no Hollywood love fest of a dead character actor. This is pure respect from those who truly understand the gift.The documentary is pretty well paced, but my one quibble is that we do not get to hear Townes perform a song all the way through until he sings "Marie" sometime past the midpoint. Also, I don't believe we had a single track from the "Carnegie Hall" show. That said, there are so many songs included, even if only for a verse, that it will provide a tremendous overview to anyone not already touched by the man's music.We cannot help but be saddened as the talk of his shock therapy and subsequent change in personality are detailed. Also, hearing his kids speak of him is almost invasive, but what a remarkable gift to the film this is.One of the producers is the great and under-appreciated Louis Black. He was involved in a film class I took at the University of Texas many years ago and has since gone on to edit an Austin paper and found the SXSW music and film festival. I feel certain his insight was invaluable to the film and sense that Townes Van Zandt music impacted his life the way it did many of us.

I saw 'Be Here to Love Me' with some friends last night. The interviews and insights into this amazing man blew me away. I even had some tears a couple times during some of the concert footage. However, I do think the obscurity of the man can obscure the film a bit. A lot of people walked out during the middle of it. I don't think they were as fascinated by him as I was. Some close friends of mine didn't get quite as overwhelmed as me. Obviously, they weren't Townes fans like me either. To sum it up, its a wonderful film if you love some of the saddest, most beautiful music ever written and want to see some top notch footage and interviews with his closest friends.

I was lucky enough to view this film at the Toronto Film Festival. As a longtime, and pretty rabid Townes Van Zandt fan, I was very impressed with the film. Director Margaret Brown did a fantastic job. Her film showed the tragedy, humor and beauty that made up Townes. I had a chance to talk to her briefly after the screening, and you could tell that this was really a labor of love. The interviews in this seem like a who's who of singer/songwriter music, featuring Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Guy Clark and many more. Hopefully it will find some sort of distribution on DVD. It is the type of film that deserves to be seen. Anyone who considers themselves a music fan should take any opportunity they have to see this film.