Editor Reviews:

Description:
As a musician, Townes Van Zandt was legendary – perhaps one of the greatest who ever lived, inspiring artists from Bob Dylan to Norah Jones to Steve Earle. As a man, a husband, and a father his life was as tragic and as beautiful as the songs he wrote. Townes was an enigma to his family, pinned between a deep longing for home and the nomadic lifestyle that was necessary for his livelihood. Director Margaret Brown’s Be Here To Love Me is an artful, expertly directed portrait of both of these sides of Van Zandt and ultimately serves as an insightful look at the sacrifices, challenges, and consequences faced in pursuit of a dream. Haunting and lyrical, Be Here To Love Me combines emotional interviews with friends and family with never seen footage of Townes Van Zandt.

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You might have never heard of Townes Van Zandt. You might not even know his songs. But this Texan's music was profoundly influential on his peers--so much so that some of the folks interviewed for Be Here to Love Me, a documentary about Van Zandt's work and difficult life, call him one of the best songwriters, maybe even the best, in American history. That's a stretch, but there's no doubting the man's talent; his two best-known tunes, "Pancho and Lefty" (popularized by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard) and "If I Needed You" (a beautiful Emmylou Harris-Don Williams duet), by themselves guarantee him a spot in a few Halls of Fame. But the Van Zandt chronicled in director Margaret Brown's 100-minute film was his own worst enemy. Born in 1944, he was a troubled young man who played Russian roulette for kicks, deliberately fell off a fourth-floor balcony, and was placed in a mental home, where shock treatments robbed him of significant parts of his memory and personality. Married three times, he was also wedded to the bottle, which ultimately destroyed him (he died of a heart attack in 1997). Be Here to Love Me details these events through various interviews with Van Zandt himself, as well as Nelson, Harris, Steve Earle, Nanci Griffith, and other notables. But whereas a fellow tippler like singer Guy Clark fondly remembers the good times, Van Zandt's family tells a different story: "Bummer," replies one ex-wife when asked to describe living with him, while his eldest son, JT, betrays a good deal of bitterness about a dad who couldn't control his own life, wasn't much of a family man, and died young and unfulfilled. DVD extras include several Van Zandt performances (in addition to clips throughout the main program), which is a good thing; were it not for his soulful, affecting songs, there wouldn't be a lot to admire about this guy. --Sam Graham

Rating : - Makes You Shake Your Head and Wonder
I saw Townes Van Zandt in concert twice. The first time I was in my senior year of college, and Townes came through town (Nacogdoches, TX) and put on a simply captivating show. His voice was fine, his guitar playing was good, and he told story after story that were side-achingly funny. (And the girl I took to the concert thought I was really smart for knowing about this great "folkie" that she had never heard of.)

Five years later, I saw Townes at some little bar/mexican restaurant in Austin, where he was so drunk (and high, probably) that he could just barely perform. And it would have probably been better for everyone if he hadn't, or if the manager of the place had pulled him off of the stage.

At first, I thought the second concert was just an anomoly. But then the tales his his substance abuses and bouts with depression came to be widely known. I thought it was a shame, because he definitely was a wonderful songwriter, and should have had a much more prominent career that he did.

This DVD is very well made, in my opinion, and helps to explain the two vastly different Townes Van Zandts that I witnessed in concert. It pulls no punches about Townes and the demons he fought throughout his life. The people interviewed in it loved him and were amazed by his talent, but couldn't really understand him. Sadly, this is often true with people who have the kinds of personal troubles that Townes did.

There is enough of the good Townes and the bad Townes in this documentary to show you that neither side was a fluke. But it is disturbing to hear about his self-destructive behavior, and even to hear him talk about doing things that make no sense -- while at the same time he seemed not to have the desire or self-discipline to bring it to a halt.

I prefer to think of Townes as the guy that wrote "Poncho and Lefty" and "If You Needed Me". But he also wrote "Nothing" and "Waiting Around to Die". Steve Earle's description of Townes playing Russion roulette during one of his visits is very disturbing. It leaves you asking yourself why someone would do that to a friend, and what was missing from his life that made his behavior so unfathomable?

This documentary tells you just about everything there is to know about Townes' life, but outside of spiritual beliefs, there is and never can be an answer as to why it seemingly had to be that way. If anything is missing from this documentary, it would be any hint at all of a spiritual influence in his life. As well made as it is, however, my guess would be that there was no such factor that could be honestly included. And that also adds to the sadness.