Heartworn Highways

Excellent!
I am a songwriter based in Nashville and I'm so glad to see that this movie has made it to DVD. These guys, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, etc., are the ones who made me want to become a writer in the first place and it's so great to see them so young and hopeful, like they might be able to do something new and inpired, heartfelt and intelligent. The most moving scenes, for me, are the ones with Townes Van Zandt. He had such a sparkle in eyes back then in '75.

The songs are wonderful and the performances are rough and real, like country music was for a time. Check it out!

Whew!!!!!! What a treat
This is a film that won't get much press, and many will miss. Make no mistake, this is a raw, underground masterpiece. Sound Quality is excellent, and this footage is RARE. I recently read the Steve Earle bio "Hardcore Troubadour" (not a bad read-4 stars) and several times it talks about the jam sessions at Guy Clarks's house. I could only visualize the magic from those mid 70's get togethers. This dvd captures those actual moments. Steve Earle must be under 20 (and hard to recognize). Many other artists also. Guy Clark does a great "Desparadoes Waiting For The Train". One full hour of unreleased music as an extra, is a real treat. This is a sleeper, not to be missed.

A musical vision fulfilled - Townes Van Zandt and friends
I was stunned by this movie. I learned of it and purchased it in 2003. For various reasons it remains for me the best, most emotional movie I have seen about musicians and their music. The producer chose well: He found the songwriters that shaped country and rock for the next 30 years: Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Steve Young, John Hiatt, Charlie Daniels and a tribute to the late Skinny Dennis, immortalized in Guy Clark's "LA Freeway." I wish David Allen Coe had been left out, but no film is perfect.

The songwriters are shown at their best and worst: a drunken, funny TVZ falls into a rabbit hole and Silent Night is rendered by fine musicians too drunk to remember the lyrics.

This movie was made when I was a poor student and musician with a small circle of talented friends in Tampa at the University of South Florida. The difference is that most of my friends and I got straight jobs [we still tried to make a difference] but these...

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